Australia's Bureau of Meteorology says a strengthening El Niño is already breaking heat records and is expected to surpass previous events, as separate research points to climate change greatly increasing the odds of record extremes.
Key facts
- The Bureau of Meteorology says the El Niño has already broken records, with Pacific ocean temperature change exceeding 2C in six months.
- Forecasts suggest the event will likely easily surpass previous El Niño events.
- The UN's weather agency said the event is continuing to strengthen and would probably persist until early 2027.
- Separate research suggested climate change greatly shortened the odds of the event hitting record extremes.
- The UN agency warned the event had the potential to deliver a massive blow to communities and economies across the world.
A growing El Niño weather phenomenon to Australia’s east is already breaking heat records and is likely to easily surpass previous events, according to Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology (BoM).
The BoM suggests the El Niño has already broken records, with Pacific ocean temperature change exceeding 2C over the course of six months, according to the Guardian.
Separate research indicated that climate change had greatly shortened the odds of the event reaching record extremes, adding to concerns about how a warming planet is influencing major weather patterns.
On Thursday, the UN’s weather agency said the event in the Pacific was continuing to strengthen and would probably persist until early 2027, according to the Guardian.
The UN agency warned that the event had the “potential to deliver a massive blow to communities and economies across the world,” underscoring the global scale of the risks involved.
El Niño events are known to reshape weather across large parts of the globe, and forecasts pointing to a record-strength event have drawn heightened attention from meteorologists and researchers.
Why it matters
El Niño events can drive extreme weather, heat and disruption across many regions, affecting agriculture, economies and communities worldwide. A record-strength event lasting into 2027, combined with research linking it to climate change, signals potentially severe global impacts.
Frequently asked questions
How strong is the forecast El Niño?
The Bureau of Meteorology says the El Niño has already broken records, with Pacific ocean temperature change exceeding 2C in six months, and forecasts suggest it will likely easily surpass previous events.
How long is the event expected to last?
According to the Guardian, the UN's weather agency said on Thursday that the event was continuing to strengthen and would probably persist until early 2027.
Is climate change linked to this El Niño?
Separate research suggested that climate change had greatly shortened the odds of the event hitting record extremes, according to the reporting.