Key facts
- Current El Nino could be unprecedented in strength, officials warned.
- Sea surface temperatures may climb 3.8C above average in the tropical Pacific.
- The UN released $50 million for 11 exposed countries.
- El Nino's impacts will be felt long after its peak in late 2026.
United Nations officials warned on Wednesday that the current El Nino event could be unprecedented in strength, potentially reaching 3.8C above average sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific. Celeste Saulo, secretary-general of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), stated that the event could be "literally off the monitoring charts that we have used for the past four decades." El Nino is expected to peak towards the end of 2026, with its impacts felt long after. Tom Fletcher, the UN's under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, described the coming El Nino as a "wrecking ball" of extreme weather, warning of "massive humanitarian consequences" and economic shocks globally. He urged governments and financial institutions to release funding proactively, announcing the release of $50 million to support 11 of the most exposed countries, including Chad, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Somalia, and South Sudan. El Nino is a naturally occurring climate pattern characterized by unusually warm surface waters in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific, typically returning every two to seven years.