ReadingThe Niño3.4 zone hit an all-time 29.70C in September.
The EU’s Copernicus service says that beats the 1982-83, 1997-98 and 2015-16 peaks.
El Niño warms the central and eastern equatorial Pacific, shifting winds, pressure and rainfall worldwide, and recurs every 2 to 7 years.
Copernicus says a new index adjusting for ocean warming does not yet show this El Niño as the strongest.
Philippines forecasters expect a peak at end-2026 and up to 31 dry days a month in southern Mindanao.
How each outlet framed it
drawn from 90+ reports worldwide · These outlets told this story very differently.
- RTE.ie
- stresses that Copernicus cannot yet call this the strongest El Niño, citing its new ocean-warming-adjusted index
- Bloomberg Business
- The Times of India
- uses Telangana's 615.5 mm monsoon deficit to argue El Niño does not reliably mean drought, citing 16 years of data
- Sun.Star Network Online
- projects up to 31 dry days a month for Davao and Soccsksargen through early 2027, tied to Mindanao electricity demand
- OnlineKhabar English
- adds that Copernicus expects monthly temperatures above 1.5°C over pre-industrial levels through 2027, per Carlo Buontempo
Sources: Sun.Star Network Online, RTE.ie, Bloomberg Business, The Times of India, OnlineKhabar English