Image of the Day for October 23, 2026

A 35-year satellite altimetry record lets scientists hold this year's El Niño up against its strongest predecessors.

Oct 23, 2026

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El Niño is part of a natural climate pattern that occurs roughly every two to seven years, bringing warmer-than-normal water to parts of the equatorial Pacific. The most recent very strong El Niño events, in 1997-98 and 2015-16, upended weather patterns. Impacts spanned the planet, from fires in Indonesia and the Amazon, to crop failures due to drought in southern Africa , to heavy rain and coastal flooding in Southern California. The current El Niño rivals these past heavyweights.

Every El Niño grows from a feedback loop between the atmosphere and the ocean. Trade winds normally keep warm water piled up in the western Pacific, where it stands higher than in the east.…