UN warns of 'supersized' El Niño as world prepares for impact

GENEVA — El Niño is firmly established and will intensify into a very strong event in the coming months, with big impacts on rainfall and temperature patterns and associated risks of floods, drought and extreme heat, according to a new update from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The world has entered a “danger zone of extreme weather” as the impacts of El Niño start to be felt globally, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has warned.Fueled by exceptionally warm ocean conditions across the tropical Pacific, El Niño is expected to strengthen further during the coming months to a very strong intensity before peaking toward the end of this year, with climate impacts continuing well into the upcoming year.The WMO, a UN agency, released the latest data on the natural weather phenomenon, showing it could be the strongest in more than 70 years and last until at least February 2027.“El Niño is being supersized before our eyes. 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. The race now is between rising risks and our commitment to take climate action and protect people. We must win that race,” Guterres said.The WMO said it has undertaken a “major mobilisation” to try to circulate its forecasts of potential extreme weather events, linked to El Niño, to as many communities as possible.WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo warned: “El Niño has the potential to deliver a massive blow to communities and economies across the world.”El Niño is a natural weather phenomenon that develops in the Pacific Ocean and is linked to a change in wind patterns. It allows warm water to spread eastwards and releases heat into the atmosphere.Sea temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific have risen sharply in recent months — a clear sign of a strengthening El Niño.In the Pacific’s key monitoring region, surface temperatures have been well over 2C above average in recent weeks, putting it on track to be declared a “very strong” event.But it is expected to surpass even that marker. Monthly sea surface temperatures could get close to 4C above average, forecasts suggest.This would make it the strongest El Niño since at least 1950, by potentially a large margin.