Published : 29 Sep 2026, 07:14 PM
Updated : 29 Sep 2026, 07:14 PM
China expects the strongest super El Niño event on record to develop this year, government meteorologists told a press conference on Tuesday.
The central and eastern equatorial Pacific began showing El Niño conditions in May, while sea surface temperature indices have risen rapidly, officials at the National Climate Centre said.
The sea surface temperature index is projected to peak at 3.2 to 3.5 degrees Celsius (37.76 to 38.3 degrees Fahrenheit) around November, marking the strongest super El Niño since instrument records began, officials said.
El Niño had a strong impact on China during this year's flood season and will continue influencing weather conditions worldwide and in China through autumn and winter, as well as next spring and summer, they said.
El Niño typically occurs every two to seven years, when weakening trade winds result in warmer waters in the eastern Pacific.
The phenomenon tends to raise global temperatures and disrupt rainfall patterns across large regions, bringing drought to some areas and heavy rain to others.
