El Niño, the strongest on record, is already causing extreme weather globally, including wildfires in Indonesia, active Pacific hurricanes, a quiet Atlantic season, a weak Indian monsoon, and typhoons in East Asia, with effects expected to persist until 2027.
01Summary
- 01Indonesia has burned nearly 895,657 hectares since January, nearly six times the size of Greater London, causing 175,000 respiratory illnesses.
- 02The eastern Pacific has seen 22 named storms and 12 hurricanes, including 10 major hurricanes, already above a full-season average.
- 03The north Atlantic has had only one hurricane, Isaias, the latest-forming on record in the satellite era.
- 04India's monsoon rainfall was 13% below average, with the east and northeast 26% drier and southern states 24% drier.
- 05The western Pacific has had 10 tropical cyclones, the most since 1966, with storms like Maysak and Dujuan causing floods and landslides in China and Japan.
02Why it matters
This matters because the ongoing El Niño is supercharging extreme weather events worldwide, affecting food production, health and safety, and increasing risks of wildfires, floods and heatwaves in many regions.
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