A strengthening ‘Super El Niño’ is set to collide with climate change, threatening global weather chaos and sizzling UK heatwaves over the coming months
A terrifying “Super El Niño” has officially been triggered in the Pacific Ocean and scientists are sounding the alarm that it is rapidly gathering strength. The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has revealed that ocean surface temperatures are experiencing a “consistent and significant warming” across the central and eastern Pacific areas.
Experts warn that water temperatures are set to rocket past 2C (3.6F) above average in key locations, supercharging a natural cycle that could trigger apocalyptic weather chaos worldwide.
The extreme warming is expected to collide with the ongoing effects of climate change, sparking potentially catastrophic weather anomalies across the globe.
WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said: “This will intensify the chances of drought and heavy rainfall and the risk of heatwaves on land and marine heatwaves in many regions of the world.”
The El Niño-Southern Oscillation is a powerhouse weather cycle that shifts every two to seven years. Normally, strong trade winds push warm water toward Australia.
However, when El Niño takes over, the winds collapse or reverse, trapping a massive reservoir of heat in the tropical Pacific that warps global weather systems.
Alarmingly, the WMO predicts an “overwhelming likelihood” of above-average land temperatures between 60°S and 60°N, encompassing nearly every populated corner of the planet.
Ms Saulo added: “El Niño conditions are already underway and are forecast to strengthen rapidly into a strong event – as accurately anticipated by WMO forecasts.”
Europe is already suffocating under record-smashing heatwaves. In France, a deadly summer has already been linked to 1,300 tragic fatalities.
Meanwhile, Britain has just endured its hottest June in history, with the Met Office recording an average temperature of 17.1C – obliterating the previous record of 16.9C set in 2025.
The mercury also hit a scorching 37.3C in Santon Downham, Suffolk, breaking the record for the hottest June day ever seen in the UK.
While the current heatwaves were not directly triggered by El Niño, the worst is yet to come as the climate phenomenon peaks between November and February.
Gareth Redmond-King, head of international programme at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, said: “Two deadly heatwaves in the last two months have shown how dangerous climate change impacts have become at 1.4C of global average temperature rise.
“Now an intensifying El Niño is set to add more heat into our climate, driving temperatures up almost everywhere in the coming months.”
While the impact on Britain is indirect, a powerful El Niño can slash rainfall across Northern Europe and send global temperatures into overdrive.
Simon Culling, an investigator for the UK’s Tornado & Storm Research Organisation (TORRO), wrote on X: “If the current predictions for the forthcoming El Niño phase are realised, what does this mean for the UK?
“It may mean hotter summers for both 2026 and 2027 and increases the risk of a significant cold spell in winter 2026/27. Let’s see what plays out.”