The current extreme El Niño 2015 is now the strongest ever recorded.
Already wreaking havoc on weather around the world, the new figures mean those effects will probably get worse.
The current El Niño has surpassed the 1997-8 El Niño on a key measure : the warmth of water in the central Pacific.
In 1997, it was 2.8 °C above average. According to the latest measurements, it reached 3.1 °C on 18 November. That’s the highest temperatures ever seen in this region.
El Niño 2015 records
This insane El Niño is responsible or at least implicated in extreme weather phenomena around the world:
- El Niño is partly responsible for 2015 being the hottest year on record.
- In India, more than 2000 people died in a heatwave caused by a delayed monsoon – an effect of El Niño. And now, the late rains are unexpectedly strong.
- El Niño could also be implicated in spreading the illegal Indonesian fires due to drought.
- In some Pacific Islands, water levels have dropped so much that coral reefs are exposed. Such a phenomenon is only seen during extreme El Niño events.
Open questions
Will this extreme El Niño bring rains or flood California?
Is the following La Niña will be as strong as her brother? This would bring roughly opposite effects to the world’s weather.
In any cases, the current massive El Niño sweeping Earth is now the biggest ever recorded.
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