El Niño has become more intense over the last 40 years than the previous 1,000

A new study has found that El Niño events have become nearly 40% stronger in the last 40 years than they were in the pre-industrial era.

An El Niño of historic proportion is taking shape in the tropical Pacific. As a result, water temperatures off Santa Barbara climbed into the low 70s Fahrenheit in late August, and anglers have reported catching dorado and yellowtail around the Channel Islands.

The authors of the new research—who examined mod...