The extreme El Niño of 1877 caused droughts, heat waves, and famines that wiped out 4% of the world’s population

The extreme El Niño of 1877 caused droughts, heat waves, and famines that wiped out 4% of the world’s population

A historic El Niño event in 1877 triggered droughts, heatwaves and famines that caused the deaths of tens of millions of people worldwide, with devastating effects on agriculture and society. The Great Famine of 1876–1878 in India, worsened by drought and British policies, caused an estimated 6 to 10 million deaths in that country alone, which was then under British rule.Around 150 years ago, our planet experienced one of the most extreme climat…