El Niño and La Niña are climate patterns in the Pacific Ocean that can affect weather worldwide.
What causes an El Niño?
Weak trade winds and weak upwelling cause warm water off the coast of South America
What causes a La Niña?
Strong trade winds blow surface water towards east, creating colder surface temperatures off South America coast. We get strong upwelling.
During normal conditions in the Pacific ocean, trade winds blow west along the equator, taking warm water from South America towards Asia. To replace that warm water, cold water rises from the depths — a process called upwelling. El Niño and La Niña are two opposing climate patterns that break these normal conditions. 
 Source: https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/ninonina.html

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