‘Record-Breaking’ El Niño Could Intensify, UN Warns of Extreme Weather
The United Nations weather agency, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), has issued a major warning over the risks of extreme weather, including floods, droughts and extreme heat around the world. The agency said El Niño, the climate phenomenon developing in the tropical Pacific, is expected to intensify in the coming months and could become a very strong event.
WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo and Director of the Climate Prediction Division Wilfran Moufouma-Okia confirmed the concerns at a press conference in Geneva, Switzerland, on Thursday (September 3, 2026).
According to a WMO update, there is an exceptionally high likelihood of nearly 100 percent that El Niño will persist through February 2027. The phenomenon is expected to strengthen further in the coming months, reach very strong intensity and peak toward the end of 2026, with its climate impacts continuing well into 2027.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres described the situation as alarming, saying, “El Niño is being supersized before our eyes. The science leaves no room for doubt: the planet is in uncharted waters, and those waters are heating up.” He added that sea-surface temperatures are rising, temperatures are continuing to climb and the world is in the “danger zone of extreme weather.”
Scientists have warned that El Niño can significantly alter rainfall and temperature patterns in many parts of the world. It is typically associated with drier conditions over Australia, Indonesia and parts of southern Asia, although the effects vary by region and depend on factors including the event’s intensity, duration and interaction with other climate patterns.
The WMO has stepped up preparedness and early-warning efforts with national meteorological and hydrological services to help governments, humanitarian agencies and climate-sensitive sectors prepare for the potential impacts of the exceptional El Niño.
