El Niño will hit this summer with 80 per cent certainty, according to the latest forecast by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) – and Europe should brace for more extreme heat, with some areas at heightened risk of drought and flooding.
Over the past week, parts of Western Europe suffered record-breaking spring temperatures as a powerful heat dome formed. Spells like this are likely to become more intense, longer and more frequent as El Niño takes hold – and scientists warn it could stretch all the way to 2028.
Although the strength of the weather phenomenon is still uncertain, WMO models suggest it will be at least moderate, and possibly strong, with a 90 per cent chance of it continuing until at least November.
“The world must treat it as the urgent climate warning it is. El Niño conditions will pour fuel on the fire of a warming world,” says UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
‘Prepare for hotter than normal temperatures’
