Cold phase
Prof Mat Collins, Joint Met Office Chair in Climate Change at Exeter University, UK, is a co-researcher on the study, which involved teams in Australia, China, the US, UK and Peru.
He said scientists were getting a better idea of how El Nino and La Nina are affected by global warming.
"Our previous research showed a doubling in frequency of extreme El Nino events, and this new study shows a similar fate for the cold phase of the cycle," he said.
"It shows again how we are just beginning to understand the consequences of global warming."
It is not possible to attribute individual weather events to climate change.
However, a review of research by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded that the world has witnessed more hot days and heat waves since the 1950s and will see more changes to weather extremes by the end of the 21st century.