El Niño was linked to famines in Europe in the early modern period
A study of 160 European famines between 1500 and 1800 shows that El Niño weather events led to the onset of some famines and extended the duration of others
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A study of 160 European famines between 1500 and 1800 shows that El Niño weather events led to the onset of some famines and extended the duration of others
5 January 2026
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El Niño events led to crop failures in some parts of Europe and raised grain prices elsewhere
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The El Niño weather phenomenon, which influences the climate and economies in regions bordering the Pacific Ocean today, also caused famines in Europe between 1500 and 1800.
During El Niño periods, ocean waters in the central and eastern Pacific become warmer, disrupting trade winds and leading to changes in rainfall patterns around the globe. When waters cool in the same area of the Pacific, it is called La Niña, and these swings between warm and cool ocean phases are known as the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO).
The phenomenon has severe impacts on tropical and subtropical regions – especially in Australasia, where it leads to drier weather and often brings droughts and bushfires, and the Americas, where precipitation increases, sometimes catastrophically.