El Niño fuels wildfires, droughts and storm surges across multiple continents
A strengthening El Niño is driving severe weather worldwide, from record wildfires in Indonesia to altered hurricane activity in the Pacific and reduced monsoon rains in India.
El Niño, now at record strength and expected to persist until at least 2027, is reshaping weather patterns across the globe. Indonesia is confronting its most severe wildfire season in over a decade, with nearly 896,000 hectares burned, school closures, and thousands of respiratory cases, especially among children. The eastern Pacific has seen 22 named storms, including 12 hurricanes and 10 major ones, a count that exceeds a typical full season with two months still remaining.
Conversely, the Atlantic has produced only a single landfalling hurricane, reflecting El Niño-driven wind shear that hampers storm formation. In India, monsoon rains are about 13% below normal, with eastern and northeastern regions experiencing drought conditions that could strain crop yields. Additional typhoons are also affecting east China and Japan, where warmer Pacific waters are fostering more intense cyclones.
Why it matters
El Niño's extreme impacts threaten health, agriculture and disaster preparedness worldwide.
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