00:00The World Meteorological Organization says the El Niño weather phenomenon is set to intensify further into 2027 and could be
00:08the strongest ever.
00:10The UN Weather Agency says its forecasts showed a near 100% likelihood that El Niño would persist through February
00:172027, fueled by exceptionally warm Pacific Ocean temperatures.
00:21It adds this is the first time it has expressed such a degree of certainty.
00:24WMO Secretary General Celeste Saulo says if this trajectory continues, it may be stronger than anything since our monitoring began,
00:32so literally off the charts.
00:34El Niño is a periodic warming of sea surface temperatures in the eastern Pacific caused by weakening trade winds that
00:40occurs every two to seven years and tends to last up to 12 months.
00:44A very strong El Niño can significantly shift rainfall and temperature patterns worldwide and fuel extreme weather such as droughts
00:51and typhoons.
