UN Climate Body Flags Potentially Strong El Niño In Coming Months, Warns Of Rising Temperatures
UN Climate Body Flags Potentially Strong El Niño In Coming Months, Warns Of Rising Temperatures Reported By, Edited By Last Updated: June 02, 2026, 13:44
UN Climate Body Flags Potentially Strong El Niño In Coming Months, Warns Of Rising Temperatures Reported By, Edited By Last Updated: June 02, 2026, 13:44 IST Most forecast models suggest it will be at least moderate, and possibly strong, with the agency warning of extreme weather events across the world in the coming months Rapid Read In India, El Niño is known to negatively impact the southwest monsoon and is associated with below-normal rainfall, and droughts. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on Tuesday warned of extreme weather events over the coming months with El Niño all set to influence global temperatures and rainfall patterns in various countries, including India. WMO, the United Nations’ authoritative body on weather, climate and water, said unusually-warm ocean waters in the tropical Pacific are fueling El Niño, which is expected to become stronger in the next few months. Its latest update indicates an 80 per cent likelihood of El Niño forming during June to August. The probabilities of it continuing until at least November are near or above 90 per cent. “The science is clear.
El Niño is arriving on our doorstep in the coming months with 90 per cent certainty. The world must treat it as the urgent climate warning it is. El Niño impacts will hit even harder, travel even farther and cross borders with devastating speed," said UN Secretary António Guterres, highlighting that the only effective response to this is to end the ‘addiction to fossil fuels’—coal, gas and oil, and protect the most vulnerable. In India, El Niño is known to negatively impact the southwest monsoon and is associated with below-normal rainfall, and droughts. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has already warned of a subpar monsoon this year, indicating that it is most likely to be 90 per cent of the long-period average across the entire country. According to different observations from multiple platforms used by WMO, the sea-surface temperatures in April to mid-May in the central-eastern Equatorial Pacific was approaching El Niño thresholds. These increasing temperatures are further supported by unusually-warm sub-surface conditions across the tropical Pacific, with temperatures exceeding 6℃ above-average. PREPARE FOR A STRONG EL-NINO Although there is still some uncertainty about its peak strength, and timing, most forecast models suggest it will be at least moderate, and possibly strong.
“We need to prepare for a potentially strong in El Niño event, which will exacerbate droughts and increase the risk of heatwaves both on land and in the ocean. The most recent El Niño in 2023-24 was one of the five strongest on record," said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo. El Niño and La Niña are opposite phases of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), one of the most powerfully-naturally occurring climate patterns on Earth. El Niño is characterised by warming of ocean surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, and typically occurs every two to seven years, and lasts around nine to 12 months, forming between March to June, and peaking around November-February, with impacts on global temperatures most pronounced in the second year after development. While it is associated with weak monsoon rains, and droughts in India, drier conditions over Central America, northern South America, the Caribbean, Australia, Indonesia and parts of the southern Asia, it is linked to increased rainfall in southern South America, southern United States, parts of the Horn of Africa. While there is no evidence that climate change increases its intensity, but scientists say it can aggravate the impacts because a warmer ocean and atmosphere increases the availability of energy and moisture for extreme weather events like heatwaves and heavy rainfall.
News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit About the Author Srishti Choudhary Srishti Choudhary, Senior Assistant Editor at CNN-News18 specializes in science, environment, and climate change reporting. With over a decade of extensive field experience, she has brought incisive g... Read More First Published: June 02, 2026, 13:44 IST News india UN Climate Body Flags Potentially Strong El Niño In Coming Months, Warns Of Rising Temperatures Disclaimer: Comments reflect users’ views, not News18’s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Loading comments...
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