Final answer:
El Niño and La Niña are natural climatic phenomena in the Pacific Ocean that cause substantial changes in global weather patterns and have significant impacts on the environment and human activities.
Step-by-step explanation:
The natural changes in ocean and wind currents in the Pacific Ocean between Indonesia and South America are referred to as El Niño and La Niña. These phenomena are part of a larger climatic system known as the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). El Niño is the warm phase associated with a band of warm ocean water that develops in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific, leading to high air pressure in the western Pacific and low air pressure in the eastern Pacific. Its effects can lead to extreme weather in various regions around the globe. Conversely, La Niña is the cool phase, characterized by below-average sea surface temperatures in the eastern Pacific. The ENSO cycle, which includes both El Niño and La Niña, causes significant global changes in temperature and rainfall patterns, impacting economies, especially those dependent on farming and fishing, and can lead to natural events like tropical cyclones, floods, and droughts.