Overview
- Warnings published Friday say a strong El Niño is developing and is likely to peak between November 2026 and early 2027 with persistence into early 2027.
- The International Rescue Committee says poor rains could create immediate emergency needs in Central America, warning up to 700,000 people in El Salvador may need urgent assistance.
- United Nations-linked forecasts reported by media estimate El Niño could push roughly 49 million more people toward hunger by the end of 2027 as staple crops face higher risk.
- A coalition of 188 Indian ecologists has urged coordinated monitoring and preparedness for heat, weaker monsoons and marine heatwaves while some of their stronger numerical projections remain provisional and not yet confirmed by operational forecasts.
- Analysts say El Niño works by warming eastern Pacific sea surface temperatures and changing wind and rain patterns, which can disrupt shipping through the Panama Canal and lift commodity prices, and that climate change may be making such events more intense and damaging.