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NOAA announced on September 14 that El Niño has officially crossed the threshold to become a 'very strong event' for the Northern Hemisphere fall and winter of 2026-27, a designation known as a Super El Niño. Forecasters say this could become the strongest El Niño on record, with effects lingering into 2027 and potentially raising sea levels along California's coast by up to a foot.
Researchers warn that this year's El Niño event, combined with ongoing global warming, resembles a rare pattern last observed in the late 1990s. They caution that the interaction between these two forces could produce extreme weather events that fall outside the range of existing climate models and historical data.
The US National Science Foundation is moving to a 'portfolio-based' funding approach that blends traditional investigator-driven research with agency-directed priorities, according to an internal letter. The agency has not specified what these directed opportunities will entail, leaving staff and researchers uncertain about future funding categories.
Peru's government ended its anchovy fishing season early after warming Pacific waters pushed the fish into deeper, colder areas, illustrating the reach of this year's unusually powerful El Niño. Scientists say the event is forecast to become one of the strongest on record, and its effects—drought near the equator, Central America and the western Pacific, alongside heavy rain in the Horn of Africa, the western US and South America's Pacific coast—may differ from past strong El Niños because of added warming from climate change.
The EU's climate service confirmed that August matched July 2023 as the hottest month ever measured, with global temperatures averaging 1.65C above pre-industrial levels. Scientists attribute the spike to a combination of long-term climate change and an intensifying El Nino pattern in the Pacific. The month also closed out western Europe's hottest summer on record, exceeding the deadly heat wave of 2003.
Researchers led by psychologist Tobias Brosch at the University of Geneva analyzed 71 studies covering over 216,000 participants to compare climate-communication strategies. Published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology, the review found that messages evoking awe, wonder or hope were more effective at motivating climate-friendly behavior than purely scientific fact-based appeals, while messages emphasizing personal responsibility often failed or backfired.
The EU's Copernicus climate agency reported that August tied with July 2023 as the hottest month ever measured globally, following a summer that also produced the second-hottest June and July on record. NOAA separately confirmed this was the hottest US summer, surpassing the Dust Bowl era, while global average temperatures ran 1.65°C above preindustrial levels.
Copernicus reported that August 2023 statistically tied July 2023 as the hottest month ever measured, with global average temperatures reaching 16.96 degrees Celsius. Scientists attribute the extreme heat to a combination of long-term human-caused climate change and a strong El Nino weather pattern, noting the reading was 1.65 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
Forecasters say the current El Niño event, already projected to be one of the strongest on record, may drive extreme weather patterns lasting into 2027. New analysis suggests it could also raise sea levels along the California coast by roughly a foot, a previously underreported consequence of the phenomenon.
A NASA satellite positioned nearly one million miles from Earth photographed three powerful tropical cyclones churning simultaneously in the Pacific Ocean, including category 4 and 5 storms occurring at the same time. Scientists attribute the unusual clustering to an especially strong El Niño pattern currently warming Pacific waters.
Long-range forecasters say early data point to a Super El Niño forming ahead of winter 2026/2027, which is expected to produce a pronounced split-flow jet stream pattern across North America and Europe. The outlook combines ocean temperature trends, historical Super El Niño analogs, and early signs of a weakening polar vortex to project month-by-month temperature and snowfall trends across the US, Canada and Europe.
Forecasters say a powerful El Niño climate pattern is developing and will likely peak in strength during the winter months. This could significantly alter typical snowfall distribution across the United States, favoring some regions with more snow while leaving others drier than usual.