Experts say climate pattern could supercharge extreme weather events and push temperatures to record highs

Gabrielle Canon and Cecilia Nowell
Thu 11 Jun 2026 16.46 EDT

EL Niño has officially arrived, US officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) said on Thursday, and scientists predict it could be the strongest of the century.

Forecasters had previously anticipated that a phenomenon known as a super “El Niño” would emerge this summer – supercharging extreme weather events and pushing global temperatures to record heights.

There’s a high probability that this year’s El Niño, which is expected to peak in the fall or winter, “would rank among the largest El Niño events in the historical record going back to 1950”, according to Noaa. A strong El Niño would put 2027 in the running to break global heat records, and could produce a series of devastating effects, ranging from supercharged rainstorms to drought, depending on the region of the world.

Here’s what you need to know:

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