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🇵🇾 Paraguay /Environment & Climate

World Meteorological Organization urges calm and prevention as strong El Niño approaches

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire From a news agency Ongoing story
  • The World Meteorological Organization said El Niño is likely to become very strong and persist through February 2027.
  • Secretary-General Celeste Saulo urged governments to act early, stressing that forecasts and preparedness can reduce harm without making disasters inevitable.
  • The organization warned that reduced agricultural production could restrict food access and drive prices higher, while unusually warm tropical Pacific waters intensify concern.

The World Meteorological Organization is urging governments to prepare for a very strong El Niño without treating the climate phenomenon as an automatic disaster.

“El Niño does not have to be a recipe for disaster,” WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said at a news conference presenting the agency’s quarterly bulletin. She said forecasts and early-warning capacity could save lives and protect livelihoods, describing the message as a call to action.

El Niño does not have to be a recipe for disaster. We have the forecasts and anticipation capacity needed to save lives and protect livelihoods.

· Celeste SauloThe WMO secretary-general urged governments to prepare rather than assume El Niño would inevitably cause disasters.

WMO climate prediction chief Wilfran Moufouma-Okia said there was a probability of nearly 100% that El Niño would continue through September and November and remain active until February 2027. He stressed that this did not mean a particular country faced a 100% chance of flooding, drought, or a heat wave.

The science is clear. We have the knowledge and tools needed to prevent hazards related to El Niño from becoming a crisis.

· Celeste SauloSaulo called for early government action based on available forecasts and preparedness tools.

The phenomenon’s expected strength is partly linked to exceptionally high temperatures in the tropical Pacific, including waters off Ecuador, Colombia, and Peru. The WMO said the most serious social effect could be lower agricultural production, leaving communities with less access to food and pushing prices higher. Millions of people could face food insecurity.

Saulo said governments should make agricultural decisions now, including choosing seeds suited to expected heavy rain, water shortages, or higher temperatures. The agency also pointed to emergency declarations in Panama and Peru, support from national meteorological and hydrological services to governments in Asia, and Singapore’s national response plan for heat waves. Scientists are particularly alarmed by excessive ocean warming, including temperatures below the surface.

This does not mean there is a 100% probability that flooding, drought, or even a heat wave will occur in a particular country.

· Wilfran Moufouma-OkiaThe WMO climate prediction chief distinguished a strong El Niño forecast from certainty about specific national disasters.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. 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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