The El Nino weather phenomenon is set to strengthen further into 2027, and could be the strongest ever, raising risks of extreme weather into next year, the World Meteorological Organisation says.
The UN weather agency said its forecasts showed a near 100 per cent likelihood that El Nino will persist through February 2027, fuelled by exceptionally warm Pacific Ocean temperatures. This is the first time the WMO has expressed such a degree of certainty, it said.
“If this trajectory continues, it may be stronger than anything since our monitoring began. So literally off the charts,” WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo told a Geneva press conference.
A very strong El Nino can significantly shift rainfall and temperature patterns worldwide, and fuel extreme weather, like typhoons.
“El Nino is being supersized before our eyes. The science leaves no room for doubt: The planet is in uncharted waters, and those waters are heating up,” said United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
