The Climate Threat Heat Records

Analysis: Expected El Niño Could Be the Most Extreme Yet

Climate scientists predict that the world could face a super-El Niño in the coming year. The forecasts point to extreme weather and temperatures on a scale that has not yet been measured on Earth, write Berlingske and the New York Times.

“All arrows point to a new global heat record becoming a reality, perhaps as early as 2026, although the probability is more likely to be 2027,” writes science reporter Lars Henrik Aagard in Berlingske.

The most talked-about super-El Niño to date occurred in 1877–1878 – when millions of people died worldwide, including from starvation.

The world is better prepared for climate change today than it was then, notes Chico Harlan in the New York Times; among other things, agriculture is more sophisticated, and many societies have also become better at protecting themselves from extreme weather because the phenomenon can be predicted.

“El Niño years usually reach their peak late in the calendar year and then cause warmer global temperatures for several months,” writes Harlan.

European Heat Wave in May: “Never Seen Before”

The ongoing heat wave in western Europe points to a heat record in May, several media outlets report.

A so-called anticyclone, a very large high pressure, is behind the high temperatures, writes Le Monde. In southern France, the temperature is expected to reach 35 degrees on Monday.

“This is a heat wave that has never been seen before in May,” Patrick Gallois, a meteorologist at the French weather service Météo-France, tells the newspaper.