This El Niño Will Be Unlike Any in the Past Eight Decades
Die-offs and floods have started already, a prelude to supercharged storms and droughts.
TL;DR
- The Niño 3.4 region in the Pacific Ocean is experiencing an abnormally warm El Niño, potentially the strongest ever recorded.
- Coral reefs, like those near Kiritimati, are suffering severe bleaching, with scientists predicting widespread death.
- Global weather patterns are being disrupted, causing floods, fires, droughts, and famine in various regions.
- Seabird populations off the coast of Peru are experiencing die-offs due to the displacement of anchovy schools by warmer waters.
- Peru has closed its anchovy fishery, a key economic activity, due to dwindling fish stocks.
- The current El Niño is surpassing previous thresholds for warming, with projections indicating it could reach twice the 'Super El Niño' level.
- Scientists note that even without changes to El Niño cycles, a warmer baseline ocean temperature amplifies the impacts of each event.
- Extreme weather predictions are reliable enough for organizations like the U.S. Navy to prepare for anticipated floods in Peru.