Source link : https://las-vegas-news.com/el-ninos-emergence-adds-fuel-to-already-rising-climate-extremes/
As El Niño Approaches, Scientists Predict Fierce Heatwaves, Wildfires and Floods – Image for illustrative purposes only (Image credits: Unsplash)
More than 500,000 people die each year from heat alone, a figure that underscores the lethal baseline already set by rising global temperatures. Scientists reported this week that a developing El Niño in the Pacific Ocean is poised to intensify heatwaves, droughts and floods through the coming months. Yet they stressed that the dominant force behind these extremes remains the long-term warming driven by the burning of fossil fuels. The combination creates a particularly hazardous outlook, even as the precise scale of additional impacts stays difficult to forecast.
Pacific Ocean Conditions Signal Heightened Risks
Recent observations show warming waters across the central and eastern Pacific, a classic signature of an emerging El Niño event. This natural climate pattern typically shifts weather systems worldwide, often bringing drier conditions to some regions and heavier rainfall to others. When layered on top of steadily rising background temperatures, the effect can push already stressed areas past critical thresholds. Researchers noted that the current ocean heat buildup appears stronger than in some past cycles, raising the possibility of more pronounced disruptions.
Historical records indicate that previous El Niño episodes have coincided with record heat in parts of Asia, Australia and the Americas. The pattern also…
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Author : Matthias Binder
Publish date : 2026-05-13 16:24:00
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