UN Warning on El Nino: Could Reach Strongest Levels in Decades
The World Meteorological Organization reported that the El Nino event will strengthen to an extraordinary degree, increasing the risk of severe drought, floods, and extreme temperatures globally.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has announced that El Nino will reach extraordinary levels in the coming months, continuing until early 2027, and will increase the risk of severe drought, floods, and extreme temperatures globally.
Global Weather Event Strengthening
The United Nations weather agency stated that forecasts show a near-one-hundred-percent probability that El Nino will continue until February. This rate constitutes the highest level of certainty ever expressed in an El Nino and La Nina update.
This naturally occurring weather event warms surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, causing changes in winds, pressure, and precipitation patterns worldwide.
Could Be the Strongest in Four Decades
Speaking to journalists in Geneva, WMO chief Celeste Saulo stated that if the current trajectory continues, this situation could be stronger than anything since monitoring began and could go beyond the scales used for the past forty years.
Although El Nino will peak towards the end of this year, its indirect impacts on the climate will continue to be felt throughout 2027.
Ocean Temperatures and Rising Temperatures
Heat in the oceans is released into the atmosphere more slowly, causing global temperatures to rise even further in the following year. While the strong El Nino in 2023-24 contributed to 2024 becoming the hottest year on record, scientists indicate that this record could be broken. Weekly ocean temperature values between late July and mid-August hovered 2.2C to 2.6C above average, indicating that El Nino is intensifying.
Disaster Management and Critical Sectors Warning
UN leader Antonio Guterres stated that El Nino is being amplified and has left the planet in uncharted waters. The WMO has put disaster management authorities and climate-sensitive sectors such as agriculture, health, energy, and water on high alert. WMO forecasts point to an increased probability of above-normal temperatures across almost all land areas between September and November.