The El Niño Southern Oscillation is a key driver behind much of our weather worldwide, but how so?

Imagine a force that connects our oceans and skies, moulding global weather patterns and shaping our conditions. That force is the climate phenomenon known as the El Niño Southern Oscillation.

It involves a critical interaction between the oceans and atmosphere characterised by two phases: El Niño and La Niña. We are currently in an El Niño phase, which produces warmer-than-normal sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific.

An El Niño phase has been thought to suppress Atlantic hurricane formation too, though that has been battling against the Atlantic running warmer than usual too, with the warm water also acting as fuel for tropical storms.

But it isn't just limited to the tropical Pacific. Warmer sea surface temperatures here can actually contribute to increasing average global surface temperatures and overall warming across the globe.

Meteorologist Tamsin Green explains in more detail in the video above how each phase impacts our weather systems, and what we have been witnessing across the world so far as a result.