Which global climate phenomenon is characterized by the periodic warming of sea surface temperatures across the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, often disrupting the normal monsoon rainfall distribution in regions including Himachal Pradesh?

💡 Solution & Explanation

El Niño involves anomalous warming of surface waters in the equatorial Pacific, altering global Walker circulation cells and frequently resulting in deficient or erratic monsoon rainfall across the Indian subcontinent. La Niña represents the opposite cooling phase. Ocean-atmosphere interactions in the Pacific have profound teleconnections with South Asian climate variability.