El Nino could be the strongest since records began four decades ago, the United Nations’ climate agency warned on Thursday, with the UN chief warning the world is in the “danger zone of extreme weather”.
The naturally-occurring weather phenomenon is set to become “very strong” in the months ahead and is near certain to persist through to February, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said.
El Nino warms surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, bringing worldwide changes in winds, pressure and rainfall patterns.
“If this trajectory continues, it may be stronger than anything since our monitoring began — so literally off the charts we have used for the past four decades,” WMO chief Celeste Saulo told reporters in Geneva.
El Nino will peak towards the end of this year — though its knock-on impacts for the climate will continue well into 2027, said the WMO.
