Ian Enochs, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Water temperatures in the 90s off Florida in July are alarming, a NOAA coral scientist writes. Scientists in several North American countries have already spotted coral bleaching off their coasts.
Kevin Trenberth, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
Climate change is relentless and largely predictable, but it is influenced by natural variability. This means the largest temperature rise usually comes at the end of an El Niño event.
David R. Frazier Photolibrary, Inc./Alamy Stock Photo
The El Niño is a reminder that bushfires are part of Australian life. But whether or not this fire season is a bad one, Australia must find a better way to manage bushfires.
A natural weather event known as El Niño is underway in the Pacific Ocean.
jon sullivan/Shutterstock
Drought in Europe, dwindling Arctic sea ice, a slow start to the Indian monsoon – unusually hot ocean temperatures can disrupt climate patterns around the world, as an ocean scientist explains.
Over the past three years, Earth’s climate system has accumulated an average of 11 Hiroshima bombs’ worth of excess energy per second. And it’s showing in the current surge in ocean temperature.
Kevin Trenberth, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
2016 was the world’s warmest year on record, due in part to a very strong El Niño event. But 2023 (and 2024) could beat that record – what should we expect?
Warm water along the equator off South America signals an El Niño, like this one in 2016.
NOAA
There’s a 98% chance of a record hot year by 2028, and a 66% chance of exceeding the 1.5°C threshold for at least that year, according to the latest World Meteorological Organization update.
Where there’s fire, there’s smoke – could plumes from the Black Summer of fire have cooled regions of the Pacific and triggered a La Niña? New research suggests it’s possible.
Marine heat waves can reach the ocean floor as well as surface waters.
Sebastian Pena Lambarri via Unsplash