BoM forecasts strongest El Niño on record as research points to ‘alarming’ climate change influence

Bureau of Meteorology suggests El Niño has already broken records, with Pacific ocean temperature change exceeding 2C in six months Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Sign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter here The growing El Niño weather phenomenon to Australia’s east is already breaking heat records, with forecasts showing it will likely easily surpass previous events, according to Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology, as seperate research suggested climate change had greatly shortened the odds of the event hitting record extremes. On Thursday the UN’s weather agency said the event in the Pacific was continuing to strengthen and would probably persist until early 2027, warning it had the “potential to deliver a massive blow to communities and economies across the world”. Sign up to get climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s Clear Air column as a free newsletter