Indonesia may be an important place to watch for early signs that a coming El Niño may be a strong one. Records dating to the 1980s indicate that during strong El Niños, Indonesia's rainfall decreased about two months before other characteristics of El Niño emerged in the ocean and atmosphere of the western Pacific. In 1997, for example, the monsoon season was delayed. Forest fires that started during the dry season raged out of control without the monsoon's quenching rains.