Abstract El Niño events are usually accompanied by Hadley circulation (HC) adjustment extending beyond the Pacific to the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. These remote HC adjustments arise through both pure atmospheric and ocean‐atmosphere coupling mechanisms, yet their relative importance remains unclear. In this study, we integrate observations with climate model experiments to assess the roles of pure atmospheric and coupled ocean‐atmosphere pathways linking ENSO to the global HC adjustments. Results show that El Niño intensifies deep convection over the Pacific but suppresses convection over the Atlantic and Indian Oceans via the tropospheric temperature mechanism. Meanwhile, El Niño‐induced Atlantic and Indian Oceans warming enhances convection and regional HC. These two pathways exert opposing influences, with pure atmospheric pathway as the dominant driver. These findings establish a novel inter‐basin dynamical perspective for ENSO‐related tropical circulation adjustments and clarify the relative importance of different pathways, offering important implications for understanding ENSO‐induced global climate impacts.
Observations from the Little Bunker
Last updated: February 24, 2026 10:22 PM
Atmospheric CO₂
429.9 ppm
+17.3
ppm/year
Atmospheric CH₄
1946.47 ppb
+6.49
ppb/year
Global Temperature
+1.48 °C
Peak: +1.73°C
World Population
8.1 billion
+67
million/year