A rapidly intensifying El Nino event is set to dominate global weather patterns in the coming months, unleashing extreme weather across the planet, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has warned.
The United Nations weather agency’s latest update, released on Friday, said that the periodic climate phenomenon threatens to heighten the risk of heatwaves, drought, and flooding around the globe. The report comes as countries in Africa and Europe are battling massive wildfires, while monsoon season has caused havoc across South Asia. Aljazeera reported.
El Nino is not just on our doorstep, it is inside the house and turning up the heat,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said. “This is only a warm-up act. El Nino is strengthening, adding fuel to a planet already on fire.”
Central Pacific sea-surface temperatures are projected to soar more than 2.9 degrees Celsius (5.22 degrees Fahrenheit) above normal. The abnormal warming of surface waters is set to upend weather systems and drive global temperature spikes.
Guterres urged nations to fast-track climate action as the impact of El Nino converges with human-induced climate change.
He specifically pointed to fossil fuel expansion as the core driver amplifying the crisis, calling for an immediate halt to new coal, oil, and gas projects.
