Super El Niño Could Drive Millions into Acute Starvation

The climate phenomenon known as El Niño could leave many millions of people facing acute hunger by the end of 2027, The Guardian reports, according to BelTA.

United Nations analysts are warning of a deteriorating situation in 45 countries that are already grappling with severe food shortages. Even if the forecast El Niño proves weaker than predicted, it could still create critical conditions in a number of nations and swell the ranks of the hungry, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) has cautioned.

According to the analysis, Central and South America, the Caribbean and southern Africa will be hit hardest. Southern and Southeast Asia are expected to receive below-average rainfall, posing serious challenges for agriculture and farmers.

“The greatest impact on food security in southern Africa will come during the lean season of 2027–2028,” said Richard Choularton, director of the WFP’s climate and resilience service.

Parts of Africa are already confronting dangerous levels of hunger because of multi-year droughts, leaving hundreds of millions of people at risk. Food prices are also rising as a result of the conflict in Iran.

At the end of July, UN Secretary-General António Guterres described El Niño as “pouring fuel on the fire of an already flaming planet” and pushing the world into “uncharted territory.” Forecasts published by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) indicate that El Niño will intensify between August and October, driving up global temperatures, increasing rainfall in some regions and causing drought in others. Heatwaves are expected to grow more intense, with temperatures in certain areas potentially exceeding the norm by as much as 2.9 degrees.

In 2026, El Niño — a Pacific Ocean phenomenon that occurs every few years and strongly influences weather patterns worldwide — is projected to be the strongest in at least the past 70 years. Some experts are already calling it a “super El Niño.” Extreme weather has already caused chaos across the globe this summer: Britain endured record heatwaves as early as May, while wildfires in France and Spain destroyed villages and forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes.