There are more signs of a coming El Niño that could trigger record global warmth

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🗞️ Driving the news: Climate scientists are seeing strong new signals of an approaching El Niño, after record-breaking westerly wind bursts in the western Pacific pushed vast amounts of warm ocean water eastward
• This is a classic precursor to the climate pattern that often amplifies global heat

🔭 The context: El Niño is part of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation, the planet’s most powerful driver of year-to-year climate variability
• The last El Niño, peaking in early 2024, helped make 2024 the hottest year on record, and current models suggest a new event could emerge by summer 2026, according to the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: El Niño releases stored ocean heat into the atmosphere, raising global temperatures, stressing coral reefs, disrupting rainfall patterns, and accelerating ice loss in polar regions
• In a warming world, each El Niño now stacks on top of already elevated baseline temperatures, increasing the risk of record-breaking global heat

⏭️ What’s next: Climate models suggest the strongest warming effects may peak in 2027, about three months after El Niño reaches full strength, potentially pushing the planet into another record-hot period

💬 One quote: “Heat comes out of the ocean during El Niño and contributes to global warming.” — Kevin Trenberth, National Center for Atmospheric Research

📈 One stat: Global ocean heat content has set records for nine consecutive years, intensifying the warming impact of any new El Niño

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