2026’s El Niño is shaping up to be a doozy – it’s already affecting global shipping, fish behavior and heat

Photo: Locomotives Tow Container Ship through Miraflores Locks – Panama Canal – Panama – December 18, 2013. Attribution: “Locomotives Tow Container Ship through Miraflores Locks – Panama Canal – Panama” by Adam Jones via Flickr. CC BY 2.0. Article by Steven Paton. The Conversation – September 10, 2026.

El Niño is here, and forecasters warn that it’s likely to be bigger and stronger in 2026-27 than any El Niño event recorded in at least 150 years. During strong El Niños, global air and ocean temperatures spike, and precipitation patterns shift dramatically – flooding rains deluge places that are normally dry, and drought strikes some of the wettest locations on earth. With this El Niño arriving on top of already high global ocean and air temperatures, it carries the potential for extraordinary impacts to millions of lives throughout the world. Globally, August 2026 was the hottest month on record, according to data from Europe’s Copernicus climate service. […]

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