Niño is back with a vengeance - and fears of 'Godzilla' strength may be the least of our worries
El Niño is returning, and the article warns that the risks may extend beyond its well-known “Godzilla-strength” potential. It recounts how the climate pattern, named “little boy” by Pacific fishers in the 1800s, was understood globally only later, with major impacts documented in 1972–73 when warmer Peruvian waters collapsed the world’s largest anchovy fishery and harsh drought hit South Asia, the Sahel and parts of East Africa. The piece ties those cycles to historical consequences, including famine-driven instability in Ethiopia and other large-scale disasters in past centuries. It emphasizes the role of nutrition in resilience, quoting epidemiologist Adugna Woyessa, and describes how the 1982–83 El Niño worsened crop failures and hunger amid civil conflict. A joint UN appeal by the World Food Programme and an agriculture agency is mentioned as part of efforts to avert a global hunger crisis.
