WMO warns of strengthening El Nino and more extreme weather
The World Meteorological Organization warned that an El Nino already forming is expected to strengthen rapidly between July and September and peak over the northern winter, and it urged governments and humanitarian agencies to prepare for heatwaves, drought, and heavy rainfall. The UN agency said it was activating climate-information and early-warning services to help vulnerable communities and farmers plan.
El Nino — a periodic warming of the tropical Pacific — reorganizes global weather patterns and tends to push global temperatures higher on top of the long-term warming trend. The WMO noted that the last such event helped make 2024 the hottest year on record, roughly 1.55°C above pre-industrial levels, and that ocean temperatures hit record highs this June. The warning is aimed at giving agriculture and disaster-response planners lead time before the peak, when the strongest effects on rainfall and heat typically arrive.