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

The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has warned that the El Nino weather phenomenon will intensify in the coming months, potentially persisting until 2027, the United Nations reported on Thursday. The UN agency's forecast indicates a near certainty that El Nino will continue until February, driven by unusually high temperatures in the Pacific Ocean.

El Nino, a periodic warming of sea-surface temperatures in the eastern Pacific caused by weakening trade winds, can significantly impact global rainfall and temperature patterns, leading to extreme weather events such as typhoons and tropical cyclones. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described El Nino as "supersized before our eyes," emphasizing that the science leaves no doubt that the planet is in uncharted, warming waters.

This marks the first time the WMO's El Nino update has been so definitive, reflecting strong agreement within the organization's extensive network. El Nino occurs naturally every two to seven years and typically lasts up to 12 months, often resulting in intense rainfall and droughts in Latin America. This year's phenomenon has already adversely affected soft commodities in tropical regions, triggering a severe food crisis in Central America's Dry Corridor.

Additionally, the WMO anticipates the El Nino event to peak near the end of the year. Indonesia is grappling with toxic haze from El Nino-fueled wildfires, affecting people across South-East Asia, including Malaysia and the Philippines. Celeste Saulo, WMO secretary general, stated that the agency is intensifying early warnings in preparation, underscoring WMO's commitment to collaborating with UN partners and humanitarian systems to provide essential climate intelligence and insights for disaster management and climate-sensitive sectors such as agriculture, health, energy, and water resources.

The urgency of acting on climate change was highlighted by a recent report from Copernicus, the European Union’s climate-change agency, which revealed that sea-surface temperatures worldwide reached their highest level on record in July, partly attributed to the El Nino effect.