After months of warnings, this year’s potentially disruptive El Niño season appears to be finally at our doorstep. The latest report from the United Nations’ World Meteorological Organization (WMO) confirmed that “sea surface temperature anomalies” are increasing across the Pacific’s central-eastern equatorial regions—heralding an increased risk of “extreme weather over the coming months.” WMO forecasts place an 80% chance of this El Niño event emerging between June and August with a 90% chance that this supercharged storm season will extend into at least November. UN meteorologists also noted that large portions of the Pacific Ocean near the equator are experiencing dramatic temperature increases under the surface—“a substantial reservoir of heat” exceeding 10.8 degrees Fahrenheit (6 degrees Celsius) above average. Other meteorologists have previously compared the risks of this year’s global warming-fueled ‘super’ El Niño to an 1877 storm season in which similar Pacific ocean heat catalyzed extensive droughts across Asia, Brazil, and Africa. That 1877 El Niño event, researchers have argued, led to widespread crop failures and a global famine responsible for the deaths of over 50 million people.