El Niño to become ‘very strong’ and last through February, UN warns
Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.
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- The World Meteorological Organization expects El Niño to strengthen to a “very strong” level and persist through February, with climate effects continuing into 2027.
- The phenomenon has already contributed to droughts and floods, and the WMO warned that impacts could increase as it intensifies.
- Authorities and climate-sensitive sectors, including agriculture, health, energy and water, were urged to prepare quickly.
El Niño is set to become “very strong” in the coming months and is almost certain to continue through February, the World Meteorological Organization said on Thursday.
El Niño is being supersized before our eyes.
The phenomenon is expected to peak toward the end of this year, but its effects could continue into 2027. Ocean heat releases into the atmosphere more slowly, which can push global temperatures higher in the following year. The hottest year on record, 2024, followed the previous El Niño.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, “El Niño is being supersized before our eyes.” He warned that rising sea-surface and air temperatures were putting the planet in “uncharted waters” and the world in “the danger zone of extreme weather.”
The science leaves no room for doubt: the planet is in uncharted waters, and those waters are heating up. Sea surface temperatures are rising, temperatures keep climbing, and the world is in the danger zone of extreme weather.
WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said the event could deliver “a massive blow to communities and economies across the world.” She said droughts and floods were already causing disruption and devastation, and that the impacts were expected to grow as El Niño strengthened. Disaster-management authorities and sectors including agriculture, health, energy and water have been told to prepare, with “no time to lose.”
a massive blow to communities and economies across the world
El Niño warms surface waters in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific, altering winds, pressure and rainfall patterns around the world. The WMO said exceptionally warm tropical Pacific waters were expected to push the event to the highest of its four intensity levels. It gave an almost 100% likelihood that El Niño would continue through February. Typical effects include drought in parts of the Amazon, Indonesia and Australia, as well as disrupted monsoons in India and shifting rainfall patterns.
no time to lose
About this summary
Originally published by CNA in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.
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