An exceptionally strong El Nino weather cycle is currently affecting the globe, bringing with it a range of severe impacts. Food security concerns, wildfires, and power warnings are among the issues being faced worldwide. El Nino is a phenomenon in which a warmer sea surface shifts global weather patterns, leading to extreme weather conditions. This year's cycle has been particularly strong, with severe consequences for various regions.
Indonesia and the Amazon region are experiencing severe wildfires due to El Nino's associated drought. In Indonesia, tracts of forest and plantations have been burning in biodiverse Borneo and the South Sumatra region for months, causing a regional haze crisis. Malaysia has closed schools in several regions, and Singapore has announced subsidies for people seeking medical treatment for haze-linked illnesses. Conservationists have rescued dozens of orangutans trapped by smoke and flames, including a female found clinging to a treetop with burns on her hands and feet.
The haze from fires has also affected the Brazilian Amazon, where public schools were shut in Manaus, the largest city in the region. Amazonas state recorded nearly four times more fire hotspots this September than the previous year, with over 749 fires burning on Wednesday alone. Myanmar has warned citizens to expect power outages due to an unseasonal heatwave blamed on El Nino, while the Philippines is preparing for higher demand and potential hydropower declines due to hotter and drier weather.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is "very concerned" about El Nino's global impacts, particularly on food security. IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva stated that the organization is "getting ready" to offer support to countries that may struggle to absorb the impact. The United Nations Development Programme has warned that the combined impacts of higher borrowing costs, surging energy prices, and the powerful El Nino could throw tens of millions of people back into poverty.
In southern Madagascar, aid workers are already battling the effects of a famine, and conditions are expected to worsen as El Nino's full impact on Africa takes hold. The UN's World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has stated that El Nino will continue to intensify until a December peak, bringing above-average temperatures to much of the globe and shifting rainfall patterns. This will increase the risk of drought and floods in different regions.
Scientists have declared this El Nino to be of "the strongest intensity on record," with sea-surface temperatures in a key monitoring region in the Pacific reaching an "all-time high" last month. The European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service reported a record sea-surface temperature of 29.70C in part of the Pacific. Japan's weather agency also confirmed the exceptional strength of this El Nino cycle.
The effects of El Nino are being felt globally, with 71 reported deaths in Thailand due to floods since mid-September and only one hurricane in the Atlantic season, which has been exceptionally light due to El Nino. A total of 46 orangutans have been rescued from Indonesia fires by authorities and conservation groups between August and October 9. As El Nino continues to intensify, its impacts are expected to worsen, with severe consequences for food security, wildfires, and power supplies worldwide.
Key points
- El Nino's strong weather cycle causes food security concerns, wildfires, and power warnings worldwide.
- Indonesia and the Amazon region are experiencing severe wildfires due to El Nino's associated drought.
- The IMF is "very concerned" about El Nino's global impacts, particularly on food security.
