Home / Environment / Super El Niño Threatens Global Weather Extremes
Super El Niño Threatens Global Weather Extremes
7 May
Summary
- A powerful El Niño event, potentially one of the strongest ever recorded, may form soon.
- This El Niño could significantly increase global temperatures and trigger extreme weather.
- Past super El Niños have caused severe droughts and increased tropical cyclone activity.
Forecasters predict a powerful El Niño event may form and persist through the end of 2026, with odds increasing for a "super El Niño." This natural climate pattern, characterized by warmer Pacific Ocean temperatures, typically exacerbates background warming from climate change, increasing the likelihood of hotter-than-normal global temperatures.
If a super El Niño, defined by sea surface temperatures at least 2 degrees Celsius above average, materializes, global temperatures in 2027 could reach record highs. Such events tend to suppress Atlantic hurricanes but can bring dry, hot conditions to the southern U.S. and heavier precipitation to parts of Asia and the Middle East. A 2015 super El Niño caused severe drought and increased tropical cyclone activity.
