Super El Niño sets another record as it strengthens to 'unprecedented levels'
El Niño has continued to strengthen, with several key measures now in record territory. Simon King explores how it compares to previous events.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) in Australia has reported that the current El Niño event has reached unprecedented levels, weeks before its expected peak in December. Key measures, such as average weekly sea-surface temperatures in the central Pacific, have reached their highest levels on record. This comes after scientists declared a new record for daily sea surface temperatures in September, exceeding the previous record set during the strong El Niño of 2015.
Temperatures above 30C have been recorded for the first time in parts of the tropical Pacific, while record sea-surface temperature anomalies and exceptional subsurface warmth have been observed. Climate scientists, including Dr Zeke Hausfather from Berkeley Earth, describe this as the strongest El Niño on record, with its warmth extending well beyond the traditional monitoring region.
The combination of this El Niño event and human-induced climate change is expected to make 2026 one of the warmest years on record, with unusually high global temperatures likely to continue into 2027.
Brief written by urgent.news from BBC Science's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
