Empirical data analyses are performed to detect and separate the signals of the volcanic eruption and El Ni¿o events in the observed surface air temperature (SAT) anomalies over land for the 2 years following the Pinatubo eruption. Composite analyses of surface temperatures for the 1950--1997 period, excluding the 2 years following each of the three major volcanic eruptions, Agung, El Chich¿n, and Pinatubo, show that the distribution of SAT anomalies over most land areas for the El Ni¿o composite is opposite to that for the La Ni¿a composite. The pattern of SAT anomalies changes from season to season. This feature is more prominent over North America than over the other continents. Singular value decomposition analyses show that following the Pinatubo eruption, El Ni¿o signals were weak over Eurasia but relatively strong over the other continents. Over North America, the 1991--1992 El Ni¿o event contributed more than 50% to the observed surface cooling of about -1.0 ¿C in June, July, and August 1992. Globally averaged, the maximum cooling over land with the El Ni¿o-Southern Oscillation signals removed is -0.5 ¿C in September, October, and November 1992 and September, October, and November 1993. ¿ 2001 American Geophysical Union