As hot as the Earth’s weather has been in recent years, it’s about to get hotter: El Niño is on the way, with warmer sea temperatures promising new weather extremes, U.S. and international forecasters say.
For several years now, a persistent La Niña pattern in the equatorial Pacific Ocean has been easing some of the worst temperature rises, as well as shaking up precipitation patterns. But the World Meteorological Organization says that’s all about to change.
“We just had the eight warmest years on record, even though we had a cooling La Niña for the past three years,” WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said.
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