‘ The world is in extreme weather danger zone’, UN Chief says

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has warned that a “supersized” El Niño climate phenomenon is pushing the planet into an extreme weather “danger zone,” with scientists expecting the event to reach very strong intensity in the coming months.

According to a statement released by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), there is a near 100 percent probability that El Niño conditions will persist through February, with climate impacts extending well into 2027.

“El Niño is being supersized before our eyes. The science leaves no room for doubt: the planet is in uncharted waters, and those waters are heating up,” Guterres said. “Sea surface temperatures are rising, temperatures keep climbing, and the world is in the danger zone of extreme weather.”

While El Niño is a naturally occurring climate pattern characterized by the warming of surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific, climate scientists note that its effects are being amplified by global warming driven by fossil fuel emissions.

WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo warned that the intensifying event threatens significant economic and social disruption globally through severe droughts, extreme heat, and flooding, calling on disaster management agencies and agriculture, energy, and healthcare sectors to prepare for heightened climate risks.