The climate monster El Niño is again frightening the planet (1 photo)
The internet is in full swing, spreading fear: the planet is being engulfed by El Niño, one of the most powerful climate cycles, already dubbed the "killer of millions." Alarmists are citing record heat waves, crop failures, and the collapse of the global economy, recalling the horrific year of 1877, when tens of millions of people died of famine. 
It sounds like the premise of a disaster movie, but let's take a breath, put away the popcorn, and figure out what's really going on and why the end of the world won't happen again.
El Niño is when a huge mass of warm water in the Pacific Ocean decides to "move" from Asia to the shores of South America. Winds usually push this water in one direction, but every few years they weaken, and the warm current rushes in the opposite direction. Since the Pacific Ocean is a colossal thing, this dramatically changes the weather around the world. The atmosphere receives a powerful heat boost, and the climate begins to become a bit stormy. Although you can see it for yourself: some regions are flooded, while others are scorched.
Now scientists say this cycle could develop into a so-called "super" El Niño, that is, become abnormally strong.
And what about the millions of victims in 1877? Yes, history records that period as a global catastrophe. But drawing parallels between the 19th century and today is like comparing a cart to a spaceship. In those years, humanity was completely helpless in the face of nature. Droughts would strike suddenly, and people would simply be left without a harvest. If the rice in a given province of China or India burned up, transporting it there from anywhere else on the planet was physically difficult.
Humanity has long since learned to cope with these vagaries of nature. We survived powerful "super" El Niños in 1997-1998 and 2015-2016. And, as you can see, we're still here.
Of course, such a powerful process won't pass without a trace this time either, but the consequences will be economic rather than apocalyptic. Due to volatile weather in Asia and South America, prices for coffee, chocolate, sugar, rice, and some oils may temporarily increase. Heat waves in some countries will increase the load on power grids. Some countries will have to endure an unusually dry summer, while others will experience a rainy one.
El Niño is not a harbinger of the end of the world, but a regular and well-studied natural process. Yes, it will bring record temperatures and give economists a bit of a shake-up, but there's certainly no need to panic.
