Newspapers are increasingly making headlines about this year’s El Niño coming up. The infamous weather phenomenon is causing temporary additional global warming on a global scale. At the same time, ’the Christmas child’ – or literally ’the little guy’ – is causing exceptional weather conditions in various parts of the world. Whereas Australia and Indonesia in particular will experience more drought, Brazil and the North of the United States will generally get warmer. In Europe, direct weather effects are less significant. Nevertheless, the chances of lower energy prices in Europe due to El Niño are increasing. In this theme report, we explain what El Niño means and look at its possible effects on energy markets.