{"id":471843,"date":"2026-09-22T10:48:26","date_gmt":"2026-09-22T10:48:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/471843\/"},"modified":"2026-09-22T10:48:26","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T10:48:26","slug":"newsom-declares-state-of-emergency-for-el-nino-what-is-it-and-how-will-it-impact-usc-annenberg-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/471843\/","title":{"rendered":"Newsom declares state of emergency for El Ni\u00f1o: What is it and how will it impact USC? \u2013 Annenberg Media"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gov. Gavin Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency Monday as California prepares for an El Ni\u00f1o event that could become one of the strongest on record, according to the governor\u2019s office<\/a>.<\/p>\n

El Ni\u00f1o can shift weather patterns around the world and contribute to extreme weather, including drought, flooding and heat, according to the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources.<\/p>\n

The Copernicus Climate Change Service<\/a> reported that August 2026 was the joint-warmest month ever recorded globally, tied with July 2023. In September, extreme heat contributed to several power outages across neighborhoods near USC\u2019s University Park Campus, according to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was definitely hot, really, really hot for the first couple of weeks, and I feel like our power grid was also not really able to keep up with that,\u201d said Akansha Sallakonda, a senior majoring in quantitative biology. \u201cI do think that as climate change gets worse, we will be unprepared to deal with more extreme weather.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how climate experts say the historic El Ni\u00f1o event could affect USC and Southern California as it progresses. <\/p>\n

What is El Ni\u00f1o?<\/p>\n

El Ni\u00f1o is an increase in sea surface temperatures in the eastern and central Pacific Ocean, according to the U.S. Geological Survey<\/a>. The agency says the climate pattern develops when low-level surface winds that normally travel from east to west along the equator weaken or begin blowing in the opposite direction.<\/p>\n

El Ni\u00f1o developed earlier this year and has continued to strengthen. The governor\u2019s office said there is a greater than 90% chance of a very strong El Ni\u00f1o this fall and winter. The World Meteorological Organization<\/a> said there is a nearly 100% likelihood that El Ni\u00f1o will persist through February 2027.<\/p>\n

According to the governor\u2019s office, El Ni\u00f1o can bring more frequent, intense storms to California, increasing the risk of flooding, landslides, debris flows and erosion. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s knocking at our door right now, and it\u2019s only ramping up,\u201d said Ian Walker, a professor of geography at the University of California, Santa Barbara. \u201cIt\u2019s safe to say that the risks, which are the things that are exposed to the storms and erosion, will increase, and that the hazards, that being the floodwaters and the erosion events, will also increase through the rest of this El Ni\u00f1o.\u201d <\/p>\n

How can students prepare for El Ni\u00f1o conditions?<\/p>\n

Karla Heidelberg, a professor of biological sciences and environmental studies and director of USC Sea Grant, said students should prepare for weather they might not be used to, including intense storms and strong winds. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to have a rough winter,\u201d Heidelberg said. \u201cIf this comes to full fruition, we\u2019ll have to be very diligent about making sure that people are safe and protecting property as much as we can, but it\u2019s going to be a real challenge this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Students can use the Los Angeles County Public Works\u2019 flood map<\/a> to check flood risk in their area and sign up for local emergency alerts<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The governor\u2019s office also recommends having an evacuation plan and keeping an emergency kit ready in case of flooding or other severe weather. <\/p>\n

Areas recently burned by wildfires face an increased risk of flooding, debris flows and mudslides during heavy rain, according to the governor\u2019s office. That could create additional risks in areas affected by recent fires, including the Palisades and Eaton fires.<\/p>\n

How is El Ni\u00f1o impacting Southern California\u2019s environment?<\/p>\n

El Ni\u00f1o and unusually warm ocean temperatures can significantly alter marine ecosystems, shifting where species live, feed and migrate. <\/p>\n

During strong El Ni\u00f1o events, tropical and warm-water species can move farther north along the California coast. The Scripps Institution of Oceanography<\/a> says species such as hammerhead sharks have previously appeared farther north as warm-water habitat expands.<\/p>\n

Heidelberg said a sicklefin devil ray was recently spotted by a USC diver near Catalina Island. She also said sea turtles have been migrating north from tropical waters.<\/p>\n

Scientists at Scripps say warm-water events can affect migration patterns, food availability and the geographic ranges of marine species. During previous strong El Ni\u00f1o events, Southern California has seen greater numbers of warm-water species, including tropical sharks. <\/p>\n

Although the exact local effects of El Ni\u00f1o remain difficult to predict, officials say Californians should prepare for the possibility of heavy rain, flooding, strong winds and coastal impacts this fall and winter. <\/p>\n

Heidelberg said individual lifestyle choices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions can also contribute to broader efforts to address climate change, which can intensify some extreme weather risks. <\/p>\n

Edited by Natalie Cerna and Zayane El Solh <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Gov. Gavin Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency Monday as California prepares for an El Ni\u00f1o event that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":471844,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[7,185568,943,14545,48,52,51,47,50,49,3290,185567,3533],"class_list":["post-471843","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-california","tag-elnino","tag-governor","tag-impact","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-newsom","tag-stateofemergency","tag-usc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/471843","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=471843"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/471843\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/471844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=471843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=471843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=471843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}