{"id":565153,"date":"2026-03-26T07:33:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T07:33:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/565153\/"},"modified":"2026-03-26T07:33:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T07:33:09","slug":"new-forecasts-suggest-super-el-nino-could-form-within-months-la-nina-on-the-way-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/565153\/","title":{"rendered":"New forecasts suggest super El Ni\u00f1o could form within months, La Ni\u00f1a on the way out"},"content":{"rendered":"

New forecasting suggests a rare super \ufeffEl Ni\u00f1o<\/a> could form within months and cause dry and extreme weather <\/a>conditions across the world. <\/p>\n

Now, national and international weather agency data show that it could develop stronger than originally thought. <\/p>\n

The European <\/a>Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts is anticipating \ufeffEl Ni\u00f1o to reach between 1.3 and 3.1 degrees above the average sea surface temperature.<\/p>\n

If it forms at more than two degrees above average, this could create a “super” event.<\/p>\n

A super, or very strong, El Ni\u00f1o event can cause catastrophic global weather and is associated with drier and warmer conditions in Australia<\/a>.<\/p>\n

These are considered rare and typically only occur every 10 to 15 years. \ufeff<\/p>\n

Australia has only been affected by three super \ufeffEl Ni\u00f1o events since 1982, with the most recent in 2015.<\/p>\n

While it is still too early to predict an \ufeffEl Ni\u00f1o, Australian and US <\/a>modelling also point to an El Ni\u00f1o developing in unusually warm waters.<\/p>\n

The US \ufeffNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said there is a one-in-three chance that the likely El Ni\u00f1o will be strong later this year.<\/p>\n

“Even though model forecasts are relatively less accurate this time of year, the increasing odds of El Ni\u00f1o are supported by the large amount of heat in the subsurface ocean and the expected weakening of the low-level trade winds,” it said in its latest update.<\/p>\n

“If El Ni\u00f1o forms, the potential strength remains very uncertain, with a one-in-three chance that it would be ‘strong’ during October-December 2026.”<\/p>\n

\"TheThe European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts’ seasonal forecast map for El Ni\u00f1o. (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts)<\/p>\n

The Bureau of Meteorology did not speculate on the strength of the El Ni\u00f1o but has forecast warmer-than-average sea temperatures in eastern and southern parts of the country from April to June.<\/p>\n

Up to three degrees warmer than average temperatures are anticipated for the western Tasman Sea. \ufeff<\/p>\n

“All models indicate a shift to El Ni\u00f1o is possible by the end of winter, however there is variation on the timing of this transition, with some suggesting development as early as May, while others delay onset until late winter,” the Bureau of Meteorology said.<\/p>\n

Weather and climate expert Ailie Gallant said the strength of the event will not be clear until around June. <\/p>\n

“The European models and the US models and the Australian models at this stage are all forecasting for the central and eastern Pacific to be warmer than normal,” the Monash University Centre of Excellence for Weather of the 21st Century’s associate professor said. <\/p>\n

“But there’s this thing in climate science called the autumn predictability barrier, which tells us that what we forecast from February through to May is very uncertain.<\/p>\n

“So while the tendency is in that direction, being able to say right now whether it will be a weak El Ni\u00f1o or a super El Ni\u00f1o is very premature.”<\/p>\n

\"TheThe last \ufeffEl \ufeffNi\u00f1o event formed in 2023 for the first time in eight years. (Nine)<\/p>\n

El Ni\u00f1o, La Ni\u00f1a and neutral are all stages of the El Ni\u00f1o\u2013Southern Oscillation climate cycle, which is an atmosphere and ocean phenomenon in the Pacific that occurs every three to eight years and disrupts weather patterns around the world. <\/p>\n

El \ufeffNi\u00f1o is linked to drier conditions, while La Ni\u00f1a is associated with wetter conditions.<\/p>\n

Gallant said these cycles only form part of the story, and other weather events like cyclones and tropical lows also impact conditions. \ufeff<\/p>\n

“El \ufeffNi\u00f1o tips the scales towards being drier in the east, but individual weather systems can change that on a dime,” she said. <\/p>\n

“We’ve had plenty of examples where El \ufeffNi\u00f1os have been very, very dry, but we’ve also had plenty of examples where El \ufeffNi\u00f1os have been much wetter than expected.”<\/p>\n

\ufeffLast month, meteorologists began forecasting that a weak spell of La Ni\u00f1a that started in November is coming to an end. <\/p>\n

The last \ufeffEl \ufeffNi\u00f1o event formed in 2023 for the first time in eight years and on the back of a triple La Ni\u00f1a from 2020 to early 2023. <\/p>\n

NEVER MISS A STORY: Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New forecasting suggests a rare super \ufeffEl Ni\u00f1o could form within months and cause dry and extreme weather…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":565154,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":{"0":"post-565153","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-top-news","11":"tag-top-stories","12":"tag-topnews","13":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/565153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=565153"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/565153\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/565154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=565153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=565153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=565153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}