That is a really good/complex question! The earth is just a system of systems. We do have an effect on it. A lot of our problem is our contribution to trends that are already happening and disrupting them. It’s basically always trends not single events/things. Life has always been a huge driver, and as we are so dominate we have an effect on the velocity of these big systems.

Check out: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/grantham/publications/climate-change-faqs/what-is-el-nino/

We have the choice to fight it or work with those systems, and we are learning. We are an amazing species.