In addition to causing massive storms and droughts, the intermittent Pacific Ocean climate phenomena known as El Niño and La Niña has affected human events many times. In an El Niño year, warm water and moist, hot air from the western Pacific move farther east than usual, arriving at the coast of Ecuador and Peru usually around December or January. Heavy rains ensue along the west coast of the Americas. At the same time, high pressure over Indonesia brings drought to Australia, Africa, south Asia, Europe and even eastern North America. In a La Niña year, these climate patterns switch to opposite extremes. An abrupt transition between the two can result in sharp weather changes. César N. Caviedes, a geography professor at the University of Florida, argues in his book, 'El Niño in History: Storming Through the Ages,' that these phenomena have repeatedly played roles in human history. An abrupt El Niño-La Niña transition in the fall of 1942 helped doom Nazi troops fighting the Soviets at Stalingrad, as winter came quickly that year, with blizzards and high winds from many directions. A strong El Niño year in 1911 set more icebergs than usual afloat in the Canadian Atlantic and allowed them to drift farther south, leading to the sinking of the Titanic, April 15, 1912. Another quick El Niño-La Niña transition in 1812 — when autumn turned to a brutal winter in a few weeks -- plunged temperatures to -30 degrees Fahrenheit, making Napoleon's retreat from Moscow a disaster. He lost 90 percent of the remains of his army during the seven-week ordeal.
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