'Supersized before our eyes': UN warns El Nino will intensify in coming months

The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) predicts that the El Nino weather phenomenon will intensify in the coming months, with extreme conditions potentially lasting until 2027. This forecast comes from the UN's weather agency, which reported a near 100 percent chance of El Nino persisting until February. The phenomenon, characterized by exceptionally warm Pacific Ocean temperatures, has the potential to significantly impact global rainfall and temperature patterns, leading to extreme weather events such as typhoons and tropical cyclones.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that El Nino is "being supersized before our eyes," emphasizing that the science leaves no room for doubt about the planet heating up. He stressed the urgency for the world to take immediate climate action and protect people from the escalating risks. The WMO described this as the first time its El Nino update was "so unequivocal," reflecting the strong consensus within their extensive network.

El Nino is a periodic warming of sea-surface temperatures in the eastern Pacific, triggered by weakened trade winds. Occurring naturally every two to seven years and typically lasting up to 12 months, it often causes intense rain and droughts in Latin America. This year's El Nino has already affected soft commodities in tropical regions, contributing to a severe food crisis in Central America's Dry Corridor. It is expected to peak at the end of the year, according to the WMO.

Indonesia has faced the worst impacts of the current El Nino, with toxic haze from El Nino-fuelled wildfires spreading across South-East Asia, including Malaysia and the Philippines. Celeste Saulo, WMO secretary general, emphasized that the agency is stepping up early warnings in preparation for the intensifying El Nino. She stressed the agency's commitment to working closely with partners across the United Nations and humanitarian system to provide crucial climate intelligence and insights needed for disaster management and climate-sensitive sectors such as agriculture, health, energy, and water resources. "We have no time to lose," she stated.