Super El Niño event may be imminent, NASA data shows

Key facts

• NASA detected a large swell of warm water off the coast of South America.
• The warm water swell is hundreds of miles wide.
• The presence of this warm water suggests a Super El Niño event may be imminent.

NASA has detected a significant swell of warm water, hundreds of miles wide, off the coast of South America. This observation, made using satellite data, suggests that a rare and powerful climate event, known as a Super El Niño, is likely imminent. El Niño events are characterized by unusually warm ocean temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, and a 'Super' El Niño indicates an event of exceptional strength.