Forecasters warn 2024's El Niño could be the strongest ever recorded

Climate scientists tracking 14 forecasting models report that central Pacific sea surface temperatures are running about 2.9°C above the 30-year average, more than 1°C hotter than at the same point in the record 1997 and 2015 El Niño events. Models now give a greater than 90% probability that this year's El Niño will exceed every event recorded since the 1870s, raising fears of severe drought, flooding, wildfires and coral bleaching worldwide.