Every few years in December, warm seawater surfaces in the Pacific Ocean near the equator. This is one sign of the reversal of wind and ocean currents christened El Niño by Peruvian fishermen. Michael Glantz, the author of Currents of Change (Cambridge University Press, £14.95/$19.95, ISBN 0 521 57659 8), explains El Niño's profound influence on climatic events worldwide, ranging from droughts in Australia to hurricanes on the east coast of the US. Between its appearances, now sometimes occurring every year and sometimes in the spring or summer, El Niño is mostly forgotten. This book aims to change that, in user-friendly style.
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