1982–83 El Niño event

Due to a variety of reasons, ranging from the lack of knowledge among the general public regarding El Niño events to the fact that a volcanic eruption in Mexico from El Chichón distracted many scientists from noticing the telltale signs, this event escaped the notice of the scientific world until 1983. As pointed out by Walter Sullivan, signs began to appear in early 1982, when a noticeable and measurable drop in atmospheric pressure was noted in the central and southeastern Pacific compared to pressures found off the coast of Darwin, Australia.[2] As the year progressed, more and more signs pointed towards an upcoming powerful El Niño event; from the collapse and subsequent reversal of the trade easterlies that traditionally prevent upwelling from occurring in the Western Pacific[4] to the various atmospheric signatures that can all be associated with the El Niño-Southern Oscillation, these indicators all pointed to the fact that one of the most powerful El Niño events of the 20th century had begun.[2]

As a result of the event, the 1982 Atlantic hurricane season and 1983 Atlantic hurricane season both saw a reduced number of storms and a decrease in their average strength. Over this two-year period, the most notable storm that formed over this period was Hurricane Alicia, a minimal Category 3 storm that made landfall in Texas, causing US$3 billion dollars worth in damages.[2] The rest of the storms that formed during these two seasons were relatively unremarkable; over the two seasons, there were only 9 named storms, 5 hurricanes, and two major hurricanes. One can expect to equal or even beat these numbers in a single season, as the tropical Atlantic typically churns out 10 named storms, 5 to 6 hurricanes, and 2 to 3 major hurricanes in a single year.[2] Despite Hurricane Debby in 1982 reaching Category 4 strength, it never made landfall.

In contrast, the 1982 Pacific hurricane season and the 1983 Pacific hurricane season were both unusually active. The 1982 season ranks as the 4th-most active season alongside 2018, while the 1983 season was the longest Pacific hurricane season recorded at the time (it was later surpassed by the 2015 and 2016 seasons). Notable storms include the aforementioned Hurricane Iwa, Hurricane Paul, and Hurricane Tico.

Despite expectations of diminished tropical cyclone activity, the western Pacific typhoon seasons of 1982 and 1983 were hardly affected by the ongoing El Niño event.

In South America, the 1982–83 El Niño event led to declines of 77% among Galápagos penguins and 49% among flightless cormorants.[5] In addition to these losses in penguins and cormorants, this El Niño event caused a quarter of adult native sea lions and fur seals on Peru's coast to starve, while the entirety of both seals' pup populations perished. In the Galápagos Islands, the event killed much of the macroalgae in the area,[6] and Desmarestia tropica is now possibly extinct from overgrazing by herbivores caused by overfishing of predator fish resulting from the event.[7] In Ecuador, heavy rainfall and flooding led to high fish and shrimp harvests; however, the large amounts of standing water also allowed mosquito populations to thrive, leading to large outbreaks of malaria.[8] In just this country alone, the economic impact from this event in regards to damages caused by this flooding were estimated at over US$400 million.[9]

In Indonesia and Australia, one of the worst droughts that the country had ever experienced occurred as a direct result of this event. The cooler waters led to the formation of less convection in the region, which in turn led to less rainfall over the two nations. The damages from crop failure and loss of livestock easily surpassed US$100 million.[1]

North America and Eurasia also faced unusually warm temperatures as a result of this event. The eastern United States in particular saw the warmest winter in roughly 25 years. Other side-effects, such as an uptick in mosquitoes, a loss in salmon off the coast of Alaska and Canada, and an increase in shark attacks off the western United States coast can all also be at least partially blamed upon this event.[10] Several temperature records across both landmasses were broken as a result.[1]