2026 El Niño event
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El Nino phenomenon supercharged by climate change
The 2026-27 El Nino could be the strongest on record.
Sebastian Cruz of the American Bird Conservancy said seabird strandings and deaths started to explode in June.
A typical El Nino episode leads to temperature rises of between 1 and 2 degrees Celsius in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, according to Met Office research.
Toxic wildfire haze spreads across Southeast Asia as El Niño intensifies
More than 202,000 hectares have burned in Indonesia's Kalimantan province, threatening wildlife and worsening air quality.
El Niño is a natural phenomenon and is not caused by climate change, according to the WMO.
The WMO said the powerful 2023-24 El Niño contributed to 2024 being the warmest year on record.
“Peatlands are incredibly effective carbon stores because their waterlogged conditions slow decomposition, allowing carbon to accumulate underground for thousands of years,”
UN warns of supersized El Niño
Subsurface ocean temperatures were more than 8 degrees Celsius above average during July and early August.
WMO Secretary General Celeste Saulo said the current El Niño has the potential to deliver a massive blow to communities and economies globally.
Sea surface temperatures were more than 2 degrees Celsius above normal in July according to the WMO.
Global ocean temperatures hit record high as El Nino intensifies
The World Meteorological Organization expects El Nino to strengthen in the coming months.
The previous record sea surface temperature of 21.09C was set in March 2024.
The average global sea surface temperature has reached its highest level on record, according to a European Union agency.
Panama Canal Announces Transit Reductions Ahead of Projected El Niño
The Panama Canal will reduce daily transits from 40 to 34 and then to 32 between September 4 and September 15 in preparation for lower water levels ahead of El Niño.
El Nino forecast to be strongest in living memory, says UK Met Office
Only three named storms have been recorded so far in the current Atlantic hurricane season.
Measurements show that sea surface temperatures in a key region of the Pacific are currently more than 2C above normal.
The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization warned that El Niño threatens tens of millions of people with crisis-level acute food insecurity.
“We have many months to go while this event continues to develop and that's one of the reasons that we have increased confidence that this will be a record-setting event,”
UK Forecasters Predict Intense El Niño Event
Wildfires have burned more than 200,000 hectares in Indonesia and displaced at least 325,000 people across Spain and France.
The Met Office warned that the El Niño event combined with human-induced climate change is very likely to make 2027 the hottest year on record globally.
The United Kingdom recorded its hottest day of the year in mid-August with a temperature of 38.1C in west London.
“then 2026 will far exceed our recent experience of El Nino and its worldwide climate influences”
Panama Canal to limit shipping ahead of El Nino extreme weather
Starting September 4, 34 vessels will be permitted to pass through the Panama Canal daily, with the cap dropping to 32 ships on September 15.
A drought in 2023 reduced Panama Canal traffic by roughly 36 percent.
The Panama Canal Authority announced daily transit caps due to concerns over drier weather conditions.
Meteorologists Forecast Severe Winter Weather Impacts Due to El Niño
“something that’s very unusual, if not a once in a lifetime type of (strength),”
El Niño could become strongest on record
Lindsey Long is a meteorologist with NOAA's Climate Prediction Center.
NOAA expects El Niño to continue strengthening through the fall and peak during the coming winter.
NOAA's Climate Prediction Center said there is a greater than 90% chance of a "very strong" El Niño developing during the fall and winter.
“I know that you guys have had a very severe drought that's been long-lasting, so hopefully this will help decrease that burden on the water supply,”
Super El Niño forecast and implications for DC weather
Sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific have reached moderate El Niño levels according to the latest Oceanic Niño Index data from NOAA.
The Blizzard of February 1983 dumped nearly 17 inches of snow on Washington, D.C.
Through August 13, the Atlantic hurricane season has seen three named tropical storms and no hurricanes.
Scientists examine controversial solution to suppress super El Niño events
David Keith is a geophysical sciences professor at the University of Chicago who was not involved in the study.
The study was led by scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
A study published in the journal Science Advances investigated whether solar geoengineering could be used to reduce the impacts of severe El Niño events.