Heat records are expected in the coming years as the El Niño phenomenon returns with rare intensity and overlaps with the warming trend caused by human activities, the United Nations warns. Scientists forecast that 2027 has a high chance of becoming the hottest year on record, IPN reports.
The UN agency responsible for the field, the World Meteorological Organization, indicated that this phenomenon is forecast to intensify throughout 2026, generating extreme weather conditions across much of the globe. There are indications that this year ocean waters could warm by more than two degrees Celsius above average, an extremely rare event recorded only a few times since 1950.
The expected effects of a strong El Niño include major risks of drought and wildfires in Australia, Southeast Asia and South America, while the southern United States could face severe flooding. These extreme phenomena may trigger global economic instability, with previous events associated with losses of trillions of dollars due to damaged crops and disruptions to supply chains, the BBC reports.
