The time displayed covers January 1979 through December 2000.
Vertical lines indicate land areas.
The surface skin and surface air temperature anomalies are similar, but not identical. Upper tropospheric water and precipitation anomalies are likewise similar. The entire tropics tend to warm during El Nino, however the Atlantic Ocean lags the Pacific Ocean. The current El Nino proved extremely intense in all fields. The current anomalies are weakening and moving eastward.