Historically, El Niño events are thought to have been occurring for thousands of years. For example, it is thought that El Niño affected the Moche in modern - day Peru, who sacrificed humans in order to try to prevent the rains. Scientists have also found the chemical signatures of warmer sea surface temperatures and increased rainfall caused by El Niño in coral specimens that are around 13,000 years old. In around 1525 when Francisco Pizarro made landfall on Peru, he noted rainfall occurring in the deserts which subsequently became the first written record of the impacts of El Niño. Modern day research and reanalysis techniques have managed to find at least 26 El Niño events since 1900, with the 1982 - 83, 1997 -- 98 and 2014 -- 16 events among the strongest on record.
where was the el niño phenomena first recognized
Peru Peru