@cnn: El Niño has officially begun, and it is forecast to intensify into a very strong or "Super" El Niño with major shifts in global weather patterns and an even hotter climate, according to a new report released Thursday morning from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. El Niño is a periodic weather pattern in the tropical Pacific Ocean that alters winds and features unusually hot waters in the central and eastern Pacific. These changes in winds and ocean temperatures have knock-on effects on weather patterns worldwide. Download the CNN Weather app on IOS for in-depth analysis.