The strongest El Niño on record has been intensifying for several months and is significantly impacting global weather patterns. Countries such as Indonesia, India, and the United States have experienced droughts, floods, and heatwaves, consistent with projections that the phenomenon will supercharge extreme weather events.
The World Meteorological Agency forecasts that this record-breaking El Niño will continue to strengthen and persist until at least 2027.
Indonesia is currently battling its worst wildfire season since 2015, with 895,657 hectares of land burned since January. These fires have led to school closures and increased hospital admissions, with around 175,000 people suffering from respiratory illnesses, including over 40,000 toddlers.
In the eastern Pacific, hurricane activity has been very high, with 22 named storms and 12 hurricanes, including 10 major hurricanes, already exceeding an average season's total. Conversely, the Atlantic Ocean has remained unusually quiet, with only one hurricane, Isaias, making landfall.
India has experienced reduced monsoon rainfall, with the east and north-east regions 26% drier than average, leading to 'exceptional' drought conditions. Further west in the Pacific, eastern China and Japan have faced an active typhoon season, with 10 tropical cyclones forming in the western Pacific Ocean, the highest number since 1966.