ELI5 El Niño and La Niña - what exactly are they?

ELI5 Explain Like I'm 5: Bite sized answers to stuff you should know about - in a mini podcast

When did people start noticing El Niño and La Niña? What exactly are they? Where does the name come from? How do they affect global weather patterns? Do they really affect the Earth’s rotation?

... we explain like I'm five

Thank you to the r/explainlikeimfive community and in particular the following users whose questions and comments formed the basis of this discussion: impar-exspiravit, thefiercedeity, nianp, colin52 and genxcub

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