居住在太平洋东海岸的渔民们早就发现了一种奇怪的自然现象:每年在圣诞节来临的前后,靠近厄瓜多尔和秘鲁沿岸的太平洋海域里的海水出现一年一度的增暖现象,鱼群的数量明显地减少,这种现象会持续一、两个月,此时渔民正好回家过圣诞节。在19世纪末,当地渔民把这种奇怪的现象称之为“厄尔尼诺”(西班牙语“圣婴”的音译)。 Fishermen living on the eastern coast of the Pacific Ocean have long discovered a strange and natural phenomenon: Every year before and after the advent of Christmas, the annual warming of the waters in the Pacific Ocean near Ecuador and Peru has appeared. The number has obviously decreased, and this phenomenon will last for one or two months. At this time, the fishermen just go home for Christmas. At the end of the 19th century, the local fishermen referred to this strange phenomenon as “El Nino” (transliteration of the Spanish “Sanctuary”).