The Guardian11 Jun 2026Macro
Automatically composed with AI from the cited sources
NOAA announced on Thursday that sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific have warmed to at least 0.5°C above average, marking the official onset of El Niño. The agency assigns a 63% probability that the event will rank among the largest in the 1950–present record, with a "super" El Niño defined by anomalies of at least 2°C, and expects peak intensity in fall or winter. The formal confirmation follows the UN’s warning of an 80% formation chance by September and the World Meteorological Organization’s later 90% chance by November.
Context
The formal confirmation follows the UN’s warning of an 80% formation chance by September and the World Meteorological Organization’s later 90% chance by November.
