Carbon Brief · Klimaat

Explainer: How the ‘super El Niño’ will reshape the world’s weather

The world is currently experiencing what is expected to become the strongest El Niño on record, referred to as a “super El Niño.” El Niño is the warm phase of a recurring climate pattern in the tropical Pacific that releases heat from the ocean into the atmosphere, temporarily raising global temperatures and altering rainfall and extreme weather patterns worldwide.

The current El Niño event commenced in June and is anticipated to persist until 2027. El Niño is a component of a broader climate pattern known as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle, which also includes a cool phase, La Niña, and a neutral phase. El Niño and La Niña events typically span nine to 12 months but can extend beyond this duration. This explainer details the mechanics of the ENSO cycle, its influence on extreme weather and global temperatures, and the reasons behind the projection that this El Niño event could be the most intense since record-keeping began.

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