Five ways El Niño is affecting the weather around the world

Countries including Indonesia, India and the United States have been experiencing droughts, floods and heatwaves in line with projections about how extreme weather events will be supercharged by the phenomenon.The World Meteorological Agency says the record-breaking El Niño will strengthen further and persist until at least 2027.Here are five ways its impact is already being felt around the world.Image caption,Several regions around the world are already experiencing anticipated El Niño impactsIndonesia battles worst wildfire season since 2015Indonesia, which typically trends drier and hotter in El Niño years, is battling its worst wildfire season since 2015.This year, since January, at least 895 657 hectares of land – nearly six times the size of Greater London – have been burned.This is more than twice the area burned last year without the influence of El Niño.The wildfires have led to school closures and an increase in hospital admissions across Indonesia.Millions of people in Sumatra and Kalimantan have been exposed to toxic haze from the fires and around 175,000 people have suffered from respiratory illness.More than 40,000 cases – which range from coughs to bronchitis and more serious conditions like pneumonia – involve toddlers.East Pacific explodes with hurricane activityIn the eastern Pacific, where El Niño tends to strengthen hurricane activity, it has been a very active season so far.There have been 22 named storms and 12 hurricanes, including 10 major hurricanes.This is already above the number that would typically develop in the whole of an average season, with two months left to go until its end.Here, El Niño provides the ingredients of higher ocean temperatures and weaker winds high in the atmosphere, making it easier for storms to gain strength.Hurricane Polo is one such example of this.The hurricane experienced rapid intensification, producing wind gusts of 180 mph (285 kmh), fueled by the very warm waters produced by El Niño.Polo was also one of three hurricanes churning away in the same basin at the same time, along with Odalys and Nolo.Moreover, it has happened twice now in the space of a month.Earlier in September, the energy produced by exceptional ocean heat resulted in three simultaneous hurricanes in the central and eastern Pacific: Lowell, Karina and Marie.Until this year, the last time there had been three Pacific hurricanes at the same time was 2015. Atlantic hurricane season remains eerily quietIn contrast, the Atlantic Ocean has remained eerily quiet.El Nino has a tendency to increase wind shear in the north Atlantic, a factor which tears apart storms and limits formation.There has only been one hurricane - Isaias - which made landfall in the Florida Panhandle and Alabama. Read full article on: https://www.bbc.com/weather/articles/c6dx07dznpyyo -BBC

Five ways El Niño is affecting the weather around the world

Comments

Namibian Sun 2026-10-22

Please login to leave a comment

Five ways El Niño is affecting the weather around the world

Comments

Namibian Sun 2026-10-22

Please login to leave a comment

Subscription Required to Access Content ×

Login

Subscription Required to Access Content