--- title: "Amid Terrifying Readings, Experts Fear El Niño Is About to Wreak Havoc" description: "The warning signs are unmistakable: this year's El Niño will be one of the first in history, if not the worst ever." date: "2026-10-11" modified: "2026-10-11" authors: - name: "Frank Landymore" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore.md" url: "https://futurism.com/science-energy/experts-fear-el-nino-wreak-havoc" categories: - "Environment" - "Science & Energy" --- # Amid Terrifying Readings, Experts Fear El Niño Is About to Wreak Havoc ![Demolished buildings against a sky.]() *Getty / Futurism* Record temperatures all across the Pacific, and a prelude of powerful hurricanes to boot. The omens are all there: this year's "super" El Niño will be the strongest in over half a century — if not in history. The daily sea temperatures in the Tropical Pacific are six degrees Fahrenheit above their normal level, the highest on record. Temperatures in this region are considered the strongest indicator of El Niño intensity. As such, the US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Agency [upgraded its odds]() that it will become stronger than any El Niño since 1950, from 75 percent to 83 percent — though many scientists think it could grow even stronger. "The warning lights are flashing... This extreme El Niño event will have widespread global impacts," Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles, [told the *Boston Globe*](). "We've never seen an event this big before in the context of our rapidly warming climate." The redoubtable climate pattern, which occurs roughly every two to seven years, is characterized by surging surface temperatures in the Pacific, which releases an influx of warm air back into the atmosphere. The normally east-to-west trade winds along the equator weaken or even reverse course, pushing warm water [back east towards the west coast]() of the Americas. That brings a barrage of storms to the region and causes other ripple effects to weather patterns across the globe. One of the most consequential impacts is the disruption El Niño causes to precipitation patterns. It'll likely cause or exacerbate droughts in some regions, and bring a deluge of rain to others, heavily disrupting agriculture. Millions, including children, are expected to be impacted by El Niño's multipronged threat. On Tuesday, the children's aid organization UNICEF said its analysis predicted that hundreds of millions of children could be exposed to dangerous conditions stemming from El Niño. "With over 347 million children living in areas expected to experience drier or wetter conditions because of El Niño, we must act now to protect communities and children," UNICEF executive director Catherine Russell said in a [statement](). The expected death toll is no less grim. The rise in global temperatures that El Niño brings could cause 451,000 excess-heath deaths worldwide, University of Chicago's Climate Impacts Lab estimated in its latest report. It could turn out more powerful than anticipated. The UN's World Meteorological Organization [warned]() Thursday that El Niño is on track to hit its peak this December, with the seasonal average sea surface temperature between now and the end of the year expected to be 8.66 degrees Fahrenheit above normal, the highest since observations began. The most intense El Niño, in 1877, [precipitated a global famine]() that killed over 50 million people. **More on climate:** [*New Jersey So Flooded That a Shark Was Spotted Swimming Through a Suburban Neighborhood*]() ## Author At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()