Strong El Niño developing, raising odds of record global warmth in 2026

A rapidly intensifying El Niño event is expected to drive global temperatures to record highs in 2026 and could trigger trillions in economic losses, according to climate scientists tracking the phenomenon.

First covered Jul 22, 2026 · 5:00 PM PT · 3 articles · no longer in the live window

Strong El Niño developing, raising odds of record global warmth in 2026 — Image via carbonbrief.org

Coverage

64d Wired Science The 2026 El Niño Is on Track to Be the Strongest on Record — This climate phenomenon could cause a massive global temperature spike and cause economic losses of $10 trillion by 2032.

64d Carbon Brief State of the climate: Rapidly developing El Niño raises chance of record-warm 2026 — As 2026 passes its halfway point, the world is watching one of the most rapidly intensifying El Niño events in… The post State of the climate: Rapidly…

66d via Bluesky This El Niño is set to be the largest on record by a ‘mind-blowing margin’ — Forecasters predict that the monster climate pattern will combine with global warming to push global temperatures in 2027 to new heights.

Primary sources

climate.gov The Spring Predictability Barrier: we’d rather be on Spring Break

cpc.ncep.noaa.gov Climate Prediction Center - Outlooks: CFS Forecast of Seasonal Climate Anomalies

data.giss.nasa.gov Data.GISS: GISS Surface Temperature Analysis (GISTEMP v4)

More coverage from around the web

yaleclimateconnections.org This could be the strongest El Niño on record » Yale Climate Connections

earthsky.org El Niño is officially here! How strong will it get?

theclimatebrink.com The Strongest El Niño Ever - by Zeke Hausfather

columbia.edu www.columbia.edu

Discussion

Bluesky: @katharinehayhoe.com Katharine Hayhoe · 64d ago · 82 ♥ 2026 is on track to be the warmest (~35% chance) or second warmest (~63%) year on record, while 2027 is very likely (92% chance) to be the warmest on record on the back of a growing super El Niño event.

Appeared in: 2026-07-24 (#14) · 2026-07-25 (#20) · 2026-07-27 (#15)

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