1.4. El Niño & La Niña Modoki

Like El Niño, El Niño Modoki (Japanese: meaning ‘similar, but different’) is a coupled ocean- atmosphere phenomenon in the tropical Pacific. El Niño is characterized by strong anomalous warming in the eastern equatorial Pacific. On the other hand, El Niño Modoki is associated with strong anomalous warming in the central tropical Pacific and cooling in the eastern and western tropical Pacific (figure 7b).