El Nino breaks Pacific temperature record as weather pattern intensifies

In September, a powerful El Nino event shattered a temperature record in a crucial Pacific zone, according to the European Union's climate monitor. This marks the second hottest September on record globally, with average sea surface temperatures climbing to 29.70C in the Nino3.4 monitoring region, surpassing previous strong El Nino episodes.

The Copernicus Climate Change Service, which reported the record, cautioned it cannot definitively declare this El Nino the strongest on record, citing the influence of climate change on ocean temperatures. Despite this uncertainty, the current event's intensity is already exceptional, especially as it has not yet peaked. September's global average sea surface temperature hit a record high of 21.05C, surpassing the previous peak of 20.92C in September 2023.

The world experienced its second hottest September overall, with surface air temperatures averaging 16.27C, 1.63C above the pre-industrial average. The Paris Agreement of 2015 aimed to keep global warming "well below 2C" above pre-industrial levels, with a target of 1.5C if possible. However, the UN declared in September that this ambitious goal would likely be missed within years.

Copernicus Director Carlo Buontempo warned that the world is "in a new run of months above 1.5C," and a strong El Nino could persist into 2027. Mitigating the impacts of climate change hinges on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels to shorten the "overshoot" period and restore temperatures to safer levels.