The current El Niño event has crossed into “super El Niño” territory, intensifying at a striking pace since it was first declared in June, as warming Pacific Ocean waters trigger atmospheric shifts that are reshaping weather patterns worldwide.
The phenomenon of El Niño has reached an intensity categorized as “super,” with ocean temperatures altering global climate patterns. This intensification is driving unprecedented hurricanes in the Pacific and exacerbating droughts and wildfires in other regions.
The warming of the Pacific Ocean is fueling an El Niño event of unparalleled intensity, modifying worldwide meteorological patterns.
RELATED: El Niño Threatens Food Security For 16 Million People in Latin America
The natural climate phenomenon of El Niño has crossed the threshold into a “super El Niño” category, rapidly intensifying since its initial declaration in June.
This event is characterized by above-average water temperatures along the equator in the Pacific Ocean, triggering atmospheric changes that alter global weather patterns. According to the latest data, the key indicator of its strength has already surpassed expectations for this fall and continues to gain power.
STORM STOPPER
: What does the brewing Super El Niño mean for the Atlantic hurricane season? Follow along as we dive into El Niño’s journey through the Atlantic basin — and how its full control can create disruptive wind shear in the basin. Stay with FOX Weather for more… pic.twitter.com/RQ0GOwYBQz
— FOX Weather (@foxweather) September 10, 2026
The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) uses the Relative Oceanic Niño Index (RONI) in the Niño 3.4 region to measure this intensity. The most recent weekly value reached 2.0 degrees Celsius above average, the official threshold for the “very strong” category and the point at which it earns the unofficial title of “super.” Notably, this is the first event recorded with the RONI, implemented in February to account for temperature increases attributable to climate change and determine the true intensity of the phenomenon. This event is developing in an oceanic context significantly warmer than during previous records.
NOAA projects a 75% chance that by the end of the year, this phenomenon will reach its peak as the most intense since records began in 1950. This rapid transition from a weak La Niña episode just a year ago mirrors the speed of the most intense event ever recorded, which occurred between 1982 and 1983.
While weekly values provide a reliable real-time picture, they differ from the usual three-month moving average, so the long-term official record will reflect this magnitude in the coming weeks. The impact of this phenomenon is already significant in hurricane seasons. In the Pacific Ocean, the lack of wind shear over exceptionally warm waters has boosted activity, with 16 storms forming so far, including two category 5 hurricanes. Fourteen of these originated in the eastern Pacific, making it likely to exceed the seasonal average of 15 storms and posing multiple threats to Hawaii.
In contrast, in the Atlantic Ocean, El Niño has increased wind shear to extreme levels, preventing storm formation and resulting in a record wait for the first hurricane of the season. Beyond cyclonic activity, the phenomenon has severe consequences in other regions. Indonesia is facing widespread forest fires, a situation that could worsen due to the unusual dryness that El Niño years bring to the country, limiting the rains needed to extinguish the flames.
El Niño is expected to reach its maximum intensity during the winter, when its influence on global climate is most pronounced, conditioning weather conditions in various parts of the world.
From teleSUR English via This RSS Feed.