UN agencies appeal for help to protect weakest from unprecedented El Niño

21 October 2026 Climate and Environment

Two UN agencies issued a powerful appeal on Wednesday for immediate assistance to help communities already being impacted by the strongest El Niño weather pattern on record.

“ The current El Niño event could be unprecedented in strength – literally, off the monitoring charts that we have used for the past four decades – and will peak towards the end of 2026, but its impacts will be felt long after that ,” said Celeste Saulo, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization ( WMO ).

According to the latest Global Seasonal Climate Update from WMO, sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific – the epicentre of the extreme El Niño weather phenomenon – may rise to 3.8℃ above average between November 2026 and January 2027 .

While a Pacific Ocean surface temperature anomaly of 0.5℃ above normal is enough to trigger an El Niño alert by WMO, Ms.…