CLIMATE · VERIFIED DEVELOPMENT
Super El Niño Set to Become Record‑Breaking Climate Event
WHY IT MATTERS
The super El Niño’s unprecedented intensity could intensify heatwaves, droughts, and floods, posing significant risks to global agriculture, water supplies, and public health.
What happened
A new El Niño, beginning in June, is projected to become the strongest on record, earning the nickname “super El Niño.” The warm phase of the El Niño‑Southern Oscillation (ENSO) releases ocean heat into the atmosphere, temporarily raising global temperatures and altering rainfall patterns worldwide.
The event is expected to persist into 2027, longer than the typical nine‑to‑twelve‑month cycle, and could reshape extreme weather across the globe, affecting billions of people.
Carbon Brief explains how ENSO operates, its historical impacts, and why this particular El Niño is forecast to be the most intense since records began.
PRIMARY SOURCES
Explainer: How the ‘super El Niño’ will reshape the world’s weather
Carbon Brief · Carbon Brief Staff · Discovery and factual synthesis only; publisher copyright terms apply