El Niño breaks heat record early
‘Jaw-dropping’ El Niño bursts through temperature record months before peak
Tuesday, 22 September 2026
Warm-up
- What extreme weather has your country seen recently?
- What do you know about El Niño?
- How can heat in one ocean affect the whole world?
Vocabulary
- phenomenon
- An event or situation that is observed, especially something unusual or important.
- metric
- A way to measure something using a specific method or scale.
- forecast
- A prediction about future conditions based on data and models.
- baseline
- A starting level used for comparison over time.
- drought
- A long period with very little rain, causing water shortages.
- downpour
- A sudden, heavy fall of rain.
- vulnerable
- At risk of being harmed or affected by something.
- acute
- Very serious or severe, especially about a short-term problem.
Reading
El Niño in the Pacific has already broken its temperature record months before the expected peak. The rise at its centre has reached 3.05C, above the 3.02C set in 2015, using a 1991–2020 baseline. A second metric, the ONI (Nino3.4), is on the brink of beating the 2015 mark, just one-hundredth of a degree below it. Both measures rely on US NOAA data.
Forecasts averaged from 14 models suggest a 4.0C peak in November–December. Climate scientist Zeke Hausfather has called this “mind-blowing”, and others describe a “Godzilla-level” phenomenon.
Impacts are spreading. Drought in Central America and the Caribbean is hitting crops, and low water has slowed trade in the Panama canal. Peru and Chile have had intense rains and flooding that disrupted access to Machu Picchu, and the Horn of Africa is vulnerable to increased downpours. The World Food Programme warns about 50 million people could face acute hunger as prices rise.
Comprehension
- What record has this El Niño already broken?
- Which organisation’s data underpins the two temperature measures?
- What peak and timing do model forecasts suggest?
- Name one region already affected and how it was affected.
- How many people could face acute hunger, according to the WFP?
Grammar focus
Future perfect
Use will have + past participle to say an action will be finished before a future time. It shows completion before a deadline or another future event. (Examples constructed.)
- Scientists will have recorded higher temperatures by November.
- NOAA models will have averaged a 4.0C peak by December.
Grammar exercise
Complete each sentence using the future perfect.
- By November, temperatures (reach) ___ record levels.
- Before the peak, canal traffic (slow) ___ further.
- By the time forecasts finish, models (average) ___ 4.0C.
- By then, Peru and Chile (experience) ___ more flooding.
- By December, the World Food Programme (warn) ___ of hunger risks.
Discussion
- How should governments prepare for stronger El Niño impacts?
- Which impact in the article worries you most, and why?
- Can international aid reduce El Niño’s food risks effectively?
- What climate information should media highlight during such events?
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