Forecaster: Coming El Niño Could Be Most Powerful in 10 Years

The coming El Niño natural phenomenon, characterized by an abnormal increase in surface water temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, could be the most powerful in the past decade. Forecaster Mikhail Leus reported this on his Telegram channel.

"The coming El Niño could be the strongest in the past decade. There are increasing signs that over the next few months, El Niño will form and strengthen, turning into a potentially significant event that will change weather patterns around the world," Leus wrote.

The forecaster added that El Niño could alter the Atlantic hurricane season and intensify global warming. Citing calculations from meteorologists at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Leus notes that El Niño will manifest between June and August and last at least until the end of the year.

However, there is a high probability that this phenomenon will intensify in winter. "In this situation, there is a high probability that 2026 or 2027 will top the list of warmest years on the planet," he clarifies. According to Leus, some European meteorological centers agree with this forecast, expecting El Niño to transform into a super El Niño by late autumn, with average sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean rising 1.5-2 degrees above the climate norm.

"El Niño years also tend to increase average global surface temperatures, thereby acting in concert with human-induced global warming to set heat records. A super El Niño would almost certainly raise global temperatures to record levels, further accelerating warming and potentially leading to even more coral bleaching and other devastating consequences," the forecaster explained.

Leus summarized that during El Niño years, the likelihood of blocking anticyclones forming over European Russia, with prolonged periods of dry and hot weather, increases. A striking example of this impact on climate was the El Niño of 2009-2010 and the subsequent abnormally hot summer of 2010.