UN warns strengthening El Niño will worsen global heat

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres warned on Friday, July 31, 2026, that a rapidly strengthening El Niño weather pattern is pushing the world into "uncharted territory," intensifying an already severe global climate crisis. The phenomenon, which warms Pacific Ocean surface temperatures and disrupts worldwide weather, is arriving with unprecedented early intensity and threatens to shatter seasonal temperature records.

Speaking at the United Nations, Guterres stated that the El Niño event is now "inside the house and turning up the heat," adding fuel to a planet already experiencing extreme conditions. He cited a summer marked by record-shattering heat domes, catastrophic wildfires in regions like Spain and France, and thousands of heat-related fatalities. According to the latest forecast from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), sea-surface temperatures in key Pacific regions are currently averaging 3 degrees Celsius (5.4 degrees Fahrenheit) above normal, a record high for this early stage.

The WMO's outlook projects that through October, nearly every land mass on Earth will experience above-normal temperatures. The agency cautioned that the strong El Niño,...