Peru is investing 57 million dollars to reinforce protection of its rivers and irrigation canals in its northwestern coastal region to prevent the flooding that could be caused by El Niño, the cyclical phenomenon of a warm Pacific Ocean current that usually triggers extreme weather around the globe. Weather patterns will likely begin to change here between December and the middle of next year, according to Alvaro Ledesma, director of irrigation at Peru's Ministry of Agriculture.

Peruvian fishing communities long ago noticed that this three-to-seven year cycle usually was manifest around Christmas, so dubbed the phenomenon El Niño (the Christ child).