Scientists around the world are warning a strong El Niño this year, colloquially dubbed a super El Niño, could lead to extreme weather events — from heavy rainfall to exacerbated droughts.
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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted last month there's an 82% chance of El Niño emerging between May and July. The United Nation's World Meteorological Organization agrees, saying there's a 90% chance El Niño will continue until at least November.
"The world must treat it as the urgent climate warning it is," said U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres in a video statement. "El Niño conditions will pour fuel on the fire of a warming world. Impacts will hit even harder, travel even further and cross borders with devastating speed."
The last El Niño event happened in 2023 and 2024 and "was one of the five strongest on record," according to World Meteorological Organization Secretary-General Celeste Saulo.
