Historical ENSO teleconnections in the eastern hemisphere

Examination of instrumental data collected over the last one hundred years or so shows that rainfall fluctuations in various parts of the eastern hemisphere are associated with the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon. Using proxy rainfall data-sets from Indonesia, Africa, North China; and a chronology of droughts from India, we investigate the occurrence of ENSO-related floods and droughts over the last five hundred years. The aim of this work is to examine the stability of the pattern of ENSO teleconnections over this longer period, noting any changes in ENSO behaviour which may be relevant in estimating its future behaviour, such as its response to climate change due to the enhanced greenhouse effect.Comparisons of the various data sets with each other and with El Niño chronology from South America, showed statistically significant evidence of teleconnections characteristic of ENSO back to around 1750. Prior to that time, relationships characteristic of ENSO were weak or absent. The disappearance of the ENSO signal in the early period is considered to be most likely due to the poorer quality of the data at that time. From the 18th Century onwards, chronologies of ENSO and anti-ENSO events are given and compared with similar chronologies in the literature.