{
  "id": 19174313,
  "title": "“Off the charts” El Niño to bring extreme weather globally: WMO",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/09/off-the-charts-el-nino-to-bring-extreme-weather-globally-wmo",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-09T15:42:33.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "SABC News",
    "slug": "sabc-news",
    "url": "https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/off-the-charts-el-nino-to-bring-extreme-weather-globally-wmo/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The United Nations World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has issued a warning that a powerful El Niño event will cause extreme heat and weather conditions globally, persisting until at least 2027. According to the WMO State of the Climate Update 2026, the past twelve years have been the hottest on record, with the average global surface temperature from January to September 2026 being 1.47 degrees Celsius higher than the pre-industrial average. WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo described the current climate situation as \"off the charts,\" emphasizing the new reality of extreme weather events. Hundreds of millions of people have already experienced unbearable heat this year, while catastrophic ice and rock collapses and flash floods in Nepal underscore the escalating risks faced by communities in vulnerable, warming high-altitude regions. The latest forecast from the WMO, compiled by global partners like the South African Weather Services, predicts a high likelihood of shifting rainfall patterns worldwide, with southern Africa expected to be warmer during the November 2026-January 2027 season. The ocean has experienced unprecedented warming due to the strong El Niño, as evidenced by the record-breaking temperatures in the Niño3.4 region of the Pacific Ocean, where the ocean temperature has risen by 3.4 degrees Celsius above normal, according to the Climate Reanalyzer data platform. Saulo explained that El Niño does not introduce new heat to the planet; instead, it releases heat that has been stored in the ocean, which is currently the warmest ever recorded.",
  "summary": "The WMO raised alarm over the very strong El Niño unleashing extreme amounts of heat well into 2027",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}