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In 1997 the Pacific Ocean had already succumbed to an exceptionally strong El Niño, and then the Indian Ocean was hit fiercely by El Niño's close cousin: the so-called Indian Ocean Dipole. Surface waters off the coast of Indonesia cooled and the ocean's predominant westerly winds reversed, leading to catastrophic weather. Fires raged across a drought-stricken Indonesia, and floods across east African nations killed thousands. Climate change could make years like 1997 come more often, according to a new study of the Indian Ocean Dipole cycle. [Source: Science/AAAS News]
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