Plot Summary

It has been linked to famines, epidemics, even the fall of empires. This program follows El Niño’s deadly path through human history and the progress science has made in understanding the once-mysterious phenomenon. The effects of El Niño are presented in detail, including an 1878 outbreak of yellow fever in Tennessee, a concurrent drought that ravaged much of China, and more recent calamities that have brought the true nature of this climatic occurrence to light. Focusing on high-tech advances in meteorology, the video outlines El Niño’s significance in the global warming debate and illustrates the use of computer models that can predict its next appearance.