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Scientists are racing to protect coral reefs ahead of a forecast global mass bleaching event driven by record ocean temperatures and a strengthening El Niño. Restoration teams are testing methods including breeding corals bred for greater heat and acid tolerance, applying microbial and nutrient treatments, and using underwater speakers to attract coral larvae to degraded reefs.
Researchers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, led by marine bioacoustician Aran Mooney, are playing underwater recordings of healthy reef sounds—like snapping shrimp and fish noise—near degraded Caribbean reefs during coral spawning season. The approach exploits a discovery that coral larvae can sense and follow sound cues when searching for a place to settle. Teams are also relocating corals to cooler, deeper waters and adding protective microorganisms as record ocean heat and a strong El Niño drive fresh coral bleaching concerns.
Oceanographers tell the Guardian that a massive Kelvin wave of unusually warm Pacific water, already raising sea levels off Ecuador, Colombia and Panama by more than a foot, is moving toward California. Scientists say it could push coastal sea levels there up by as much as a foot and keep them elevated for months as part of a strong El Niño pattern.
Current El Nino conditions have pushed the Pacific temperature anomaly to 3.05C above the 1991-2020 average, surpassing the previous record of 3.02C set in 2015, according to NOAA data. The ONI metric, which uses a rolling 30-year baseline, is within 0.01C of its own 2015 record, and forecasters cited by The Guardian project the event could peak near 4.0C by November or December.
A powerful September nor'easter struck the U.S. Eastern Seaboard over the weekend, bringing heavy rain, damaging winds and coastal flooding from Maine to North Carolina, with rain persisting into Monday in New England. Forecasters are linking the unusual storm pattern to a developing 2026 Super El Niño event affecting both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
The Atlantic has recorded six named storms this season but none have strengthened into hurricanes, an unusual outcome not seen in decades. Meanwhile, the Central and Eastern Pacific have produced 16 named storms during the same period, a notably active stretch.
Climate researchers have released a new map showing how an unusually powerful El Niño weather pattern is expected to alter conditions across different regions worldwide. The map identifies areas likely to see the most significant disruptions to rainfall, temperature and storm activity as the phenomenon intensifies.
Climate Impact Lab, a research organization co-founded by University of Chicago economist Michael Greenstone, estimates that roughly 451,000 excess deaths will occur from heat during the first six months of the current El Niño event, compared with a typical year. The group forecasts the hardest-hit regions will be in northern Africa, South East Asia and Latin America, naming Nigeria, Indonesia, Sudan, India and Brazil as the most affected countries. The report notes the El Niño pattern is expected to persist until at least spring 2027.
A new report warns that the current strong El Niño event, which is pushing global temperatures unusually high, could contribute to nearly half a million deaths over the next six months. The report describes the extreme heat as a preview of conditions expected to become the norm within a few decades.
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.
A tech newsletter roundup covers preparations for an extreme El Niño event, new developments in jet-powered drone warfare, the emergence of credit cards designed for AI agents to make purchases, and a GLP-1 drug manufacturer partnering with Anthropic's Claude to accelerate medicine development.
The US Climate Prediction Center says above-normal temperatures will persist across much of the country through late September, driven by a strong El Niño pattern and an atmospheric ridge trapping warm air. Some regions, including the Upper Midwest and Deep South, could see readings 5 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit above normal, extending a summer that already set numerous heat records nationwide.