The United Nations has issued a warning that the ongoing El Nino weather event could reach unprecedented levels, urging countries worldwide to take urgent preventative measures to mitigate its potential impact. Speaking at a press briefing in Geneva on Wednesday, Celeste Saulo, head of the UN’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO), described the current El Nino as potentially being “literally off the monitoring charts” used over the past four decades.

Saulo highlighted that the event is expected to peak between November 2026 and January 2027, with sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean—where El Nino originates—predicted to rise as much as 3.8 degrees Celsius above average. This far exceeds typical temperature anomalies associated with previous El Nino cycles. She cautioned that the significant warming would have widespread effects on global weather patterns, intensifying the challenges posed by human-driven climate change.

Joining Saulo, Tom Fletcher, the UN’s humanitarian chief, characterized the event as a “wrecking ball” likely to bring extreme heat, droughts, and flooding to various regions. He underscored that the humanitarian repercussions would extend beyond the directly affected countries, potentially causing economic shocks worldwide and exacerbating conflict, displacement, and migration. Fletcher emphasized the limits of the humanitarian system to address a crisis of this scale unaided, calling for early, coordinated financial investments by governments, development banks, and international institutions.

“Investing in resilience before the worst impacts occur is essential,” Fletcher said, noting the release of $50 million in funding to support 11 frontline countries, including Chad, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Somalia, and South Sudan. This funding is aimed at bolstering preparedness and response efforts in regions most vulnerable to El Nino’s effects.

El Nino is a naturally occurring climate phenomenon characterized by a warming of the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean. It disrupts typical wind, pressure, and rainfall patterns globally and usually recurs every two to seven years, lasting nine to 12 months. It forms part of a broader cycle that also includes La Nina, a cooling phase, with neutral conditions occurring in between.

The UN’s latest seasonal climate updates indicate that this El Nino event could surpass historical records, prompting calls for urgent, anticipatory actions to reduce the potentially devastating environmental, social, and economic consequences worldwide.