UN raises alarm over a historic El Niño: Risk of extreme weather spreading worldwide

El Niño-related changes are already being felt around the globe, pushing the planet into what the UN describes as a “danger zone of extreme weather.”

UN Secretary-General António Guterres issued the warning, while the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) estimates that the phenomenon could be the most powerful in more than 70 years and continue at least until February 2027.

According to the WMO, the consequences will vary from region to region. Some areas may face drought, while others could experience intense rainfall, typhoons and more severe flooding. Temperatures are also expected to rise in some places, adding to the global warming caused by climate change.

“El Niño is intensifying before our eyes. Science leaves no room for doubt: the planet is in uncharted waters, and those waters are heating up,” Guterres said.

As a UN agency, the World Meteorological Organization has launched a “major mobilization” to deliver forecasts of extreme weather events that could be caused by El Niño to as many communities as possible.

Celeste Saulo, Secretary-General of the WMO, said the phenomenon “has the potential to deliver a major blow to communities and economies around the world.”

El Niño is a natural phenomenon that forms in the Pacific Ocean and is linked to changes in wind patterns. This process allows warm water to move eastward and release heat into the atmosphere.

In recent months, the waters of the central and eastern tropical Pacific have warmed significantly, signaling that the phenomenon is strengthening.

In the main monitoring area of the Pacific, sea-surface temperatures have remained more than 2 degrees Celsius above average in recent weeks. This puts El Niño on course to become an event classified as “very strong.”

However, forecasts indicate that monthly sea-surface temperatures could reach nearly 4 degrees Celsius above average.

If this scenario materializes, it would be the strongest El Niño on record, at least since 1950.

Beneath the surface of the Pacific, the figures are even higher, with temperatures measured at more than 8 degrees Celsius above average in some areas.

Unusually high sea temperatures are also forecast in other regions, including the Indian Ocean, the tropical Atlantic and waters near the coast of Australia.

BBC reports that governments and scientists in various countries have begun taking measures to limit the risk of fatalities, population displacement and environmental damage.