The UN weather agency said its forecasts showed a near 100% likelihood that El Niño would persist through February 2027, fuelled by exceptionally warm Pacific Ocean temperatures. This is the first time it has expressed such a degree of certainty, the WMO 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.
El Niño is a periodic warming of sea surface temperatures in the eastern Pacific caused by weakening trade winds. It occurs every two to seven years and tends to last up to 12 months, causing intense rains and droughts across Latin America.
A very strong El Niño can significantly shift rainfall and temperature patterns worldwide, and fuel extreme weather, such as droughts and typhoons.
