{"id":868587,"date":"2026-08-23T13:36:14","date_gmt":"2026-08-23T13:36:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/868587\/"},"modified":"2026-08-23T13:36:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-23T13:36:14","slug":"super-el-nino-didnt-cause-this-years-fires-and-heat-waves-but-its-about-to-take-us-on-a-wild-ride","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/868587\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Super’ El Ni\u00f1o didn’t cause this year’s fires and heat waves, but it’s about to take us on a ‘wild ride’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Whether you call it a “super” El Ni\u00f1o<\/a> or a “Godzilla” El Ni\u00f1o<\/a>, the Pacific Ocean warming event that disrupts global weather patterns is back and packing a punch, at a time when many parts of the planet are already overheated.<\/p>\n

This July was the hottest on record for North America and Europe, where successive heat waves have led to thousands of heat-related deaths, dried up rivers and fire-scorched landscapes. That includes Canada, which has already seen more than 4.1 million hectares of woodland go up in flames and produce thick smoke that blanketed much of the eastern half of the country and parts of the northern U.S.<\/p>\n

Although this scorching summer aligned with the arrival of an El Ni\u00f1o and climate scientists say it’s not to blame for those devastating extreme weather events. However, they note we may only be starting to see how this naturally occurring phenomenon could amplify extreme weather already super-charged by fossil-fuel driven climate change.<\/p>\n

“El Ni\u00f1o’s impacts are going to be large and broad across a huge area,” said Josh Willis, a climate scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. <\/p>\n

“Get ready, because it’s going to be a wild ride.”<\/p>\n

WATCH | What might happen when El Ni\u00f1o mixes with human-caused climate change:\"\"<\/p>\n

El Ni\u00f1o expected to add fuel to climate disasters<\/p>\n

The UN’s weather agency is warning that the return of El Ni\u00f1o will make temperatures even higher this summer, which they also warn will exacerbate climate disasters, including drought and wildfires.Flipping the weather upside down<\/p>\n

El Ni\u00f1os occur naturally every three to seven years, usually beginning in spring and enduring well into the following year, as the water surface temperature in the area of the Pacific where they form along the equator, rises at least 0.5 C above the average.<\/p>\n

Willis says that warming heats up the air above the water and “rearranges the atmosphere.”<\/p>\n

“It flips the weather upside down,” he said, causing drier places to get heavier rainfall and wetter regions to dry up.<\/p>\n

\"AA satellite map from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows sea surface temperature anomalies recorded on Aug. 20, with hotter than average temperatures stretching across the El Ni\u00f1o region toward the west coast of South America. (NOAA)<\/p>\n

Although this El Ni\u00f1o may have begun forming in May and June just as successive heat waves and fires began to scorch the northern hemisphere, Willis says they usually don’t start to impact northern places like Canada until they peak in the late fall and winter.<\/p>\n

But Muhammad Azhar Ehsan, a scientist at the Center for Climate Systems Research (CCSR) at New York’s Columbia University, says this El Ni\u00f1o is so unprecedented that while he can’t directly link it to current heat and wildfire conditions, he does wonder if the “exceptional” temperatures associated with it could be contributing to these disasters. <\/p>\n

At the very least, he thinks it’s grounds for more research <\/p>\n

Ehsen says this El Ni\u00f1o is on track to rival those experienced in 2015-16 and 1997-98, the strongest El Ni\u00f1os since official records began in 1950.<\/p>\n

WATCH | How a very strong El Ni\u00f1o will affect the planet in 2026 and into next year:\"\"<\/p>\n

What exactly is a \u2018super\u2019 El Ni\u00f1o? And what does it mean for you?<\/p>\n

Some climate models predict 2026 will be an El Ni\u00f1o year \u2014 and that it’ll be a particularly strong one. CBC\u2019s Nick Logan breaks down what that means, and what Canadians can expect.What to expect when you’re expecting El Ni\u00f1o<\/p>\n

Models suggest much of Canada and the northern U.S. can expect a warmer winter than usual due to this El Ni\u00f1o, with British Columbia<\/a>‘s normally wet south coast potentially seeing far less precipitation and a much lower snowpack. <\/p>\n

The southern U.S., meanwhile, is likely to experience a much wetter winter. <\/p>\n

There are also noticeable effects happening right now in the tropics that Willis says are likely associated with El Ni\u00f1o. He says the phenomenon “sort of juices up” conditions that may already be occuring.<\/p>\n

Peru and Ecuador sit at the eastern edge of the El Ni\u00f1o region, where Willis says a lot of warm water has “smashed up” against the coast, posing a threat to fisheries<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Peru is also bracing for heavy rains<\/a> and flooding in some areas and drought<\/a> in many inland regions. <\/p>\n

“But we’re also beginning to see a lot of drought away from the equator,” Willis said, highlighting a prolonged lack of rainfall in Panama, which is already affecting water levels in the lake that supplies the Panama Canal<\/a>. <\/p>\n

At the opposite end of the El Ni\u00f1o region are countries like Indonesia, which is already experiencing a much longer and more active wildfire season<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"A16-year-old Rudiyansah wears a Superman costume while extinguishing a fire at a wildfire-affected area in Indonesia’s Central Kalimantan province on Aug. 14. (Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana\/Reuters)<\/p>\n

One thing people in North America can see happening now, Willis says,\u00a0is the change to the hurricane season.\u00a0In an El Ni\u00f1o year, there are fewer tropical storms and hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“The jet stream, which is migrating a little bit farther south, tends to shear off the top of the hurricanes in the Atlantic,” he said.<\/p>\n

“And because we have all this warm water in the Eastern Pacific, it fuels storm generation there and tropical storms and depressions, which might not have been hurricanes otherwise.” <\/p>\n

The Eastern Pacific season has already recorded nine named storms ahead of peak season \u2014 including Category 5 Hurricane Genevieve<\/a> in late July and Lala<\/a>, which caused significant damage as a tropical storm on Hawaii’s Big Island last week. <\/p>\n

WATCH | Hawaii’s Big Island spared direct hit from Lala but suffers widespread damage:\"\"<\/p>\n

Tropical Storm Lala leaves destruction across Hawaii<\/p>\n

Despite not making a direct hit, Tropical Storm Lala left widespread destruction on Hawaii’s Big Island. Lala was downgraded from hurricane status on Sunday morning, but forecasters warned it remained powerful and dangerousAn El Ni\u00f1o born into a much warmer world<\/p>\n

The record heat and wildfires this summer were the result of human-caused climate change, which has already been attributed for the past four years being the hottest on record, says Zachary Labe, climate scientist at U.S.-based nonprofit organization Climate Central. <\/p>\n

“El Ni\u00f1o is just sort of a temporary boost on top of this long-term trend,” Labe said. <\/p>\n

But such a significant warming event happening in a world that’s even hotter due to climate change could, he says, defy expectations climate scientists have based on previous data. <\/p>\n

\"AAuthorities in Panama have begun restricting shipping through the Panama Canal, seen in this March 13 file photo, as the country copes with drought conditions exacerbated by El Ni\u00f1o. (Enea Lebrun\/Reuters)<\/p>\n

Labe says what’s more certain is that we’ll be dealing with the effects of this El Ni\u00f1o well into 2027.<\/p>\n

“Because it takes time for that El Ni\u00f1o to have all that heat that’s building up in the ocean to transfer into the atmosphere,” he said. <\/p>\n

“So, this will be around with us for at least the next six to 12 months.”<\/p>\n

WATCH | How climate change is making global extreme weather events more likely:\"\"<\/p>\n

Climate change ‘loading the dice’ for extreme weather, says climate scientist<\/p>\n

Katharine Hayhoe, global chief scientist with Nature Conservancy, says that while powerful storms and disastrous wildfires have always happened, global climate change has created conditions that make them more likely to occur.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Whether you call it a “super” El Ni\u00f1o or a “Godzilla” El Ni\u00f1o, the Pacific Ocean warming event…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":868588,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[49,48,295,66],"class_list":["post-868587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/868587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=868587"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/868587\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/868588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=868587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=868587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=868587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}