El Niño rains in Peru disrupt access to Machu Picchu

Torrential rains in Peru have left dozens of tourists stranded on their way up to Machu Picchu. Due to the extreme weather conditions, the main tourist route to the sanctuary will remain closed until Saturday. Heavy rainfall has caused landslides across the country. Here, this road has been torn apart. And these trucks were trapped by mudslides and rockfalls, with traffic on this coastal road cut off. This event has occurred under conditions where sea temperatures are warm due to El Niño, so this situation has added to instability in the atmosphere that has caused winds and drizzle too. El Niño is a natural climate variation that causes significant changes in Pacific Ocean temperatures, as well as in global atmospheric circulation. This can lead to certain extreme weather events. But it's not just Peru impacted. This weather phenomenon is causing drought in other places. The Panama Canal will reduce the number of vessels allowed through from the start of next month due to a lack of rain. On average, El Niño occurs every two to seven years, and this year's phenomenon is expected to be one of the strongest on record.