Super El Niño sets another record as it strengthens to 'unprecedented levels'

What the report says

El Niño has continued to intensify in the Pacific, with BBC News reporting that several monitoring measures have now moved into record territory ahead of the event’s expected peak in December. According to Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology, weekly sea-surface temperatures in the central Pacific have reached their highest level on record, while scientists earlier recorded daily temperature extremes in the central-eastern Pacific that surpassed the benchmark set during the strong 2015 event.

The BBC says parts of the tropical Pacific have also seen temperatures above 30C for the first time, alongside unusually high sea-surface anomalies and strong warmth below the surface. To account for the background warming of the oceans caused by human-driven climate change, forecasters are increasingly using a relative measure of El Niño strength. On that basis, the current event is being compared with or described as exceeding the record levels seen in late 2015.

Weather scientist Dr Zeke Hausfather told the BBC the event is “unprecedented” in the historical record. The reporting also notes that the warming is extending beyond the usual monitoring zone, reflecting both El Niño itself and longer-term ocean warming. That matters because strong El Niño years often influence rainfall, drought, wildfire risk and tropical cyclone patterns in different parts of the world.

The BBC adds that impacts are already being reported in some regions, with concerns about food security in parts of East Africa and the Asia-Pacific. It also says forecasts from major weather centres point to a December peak, with elevated global temperatures likely to persist into 2027.