El Niño has strengthened significantly over the past month and is expected to intensify through the end of 2026, with NOAA forecasters warning there is now an 81% chance the climate pattern could rank among the strongest El Niño events observed since records began in 1950.
A strengthening El Niño and a persistent cool sea-surface-temperature anomaly in the subpolar North Atlantic, associated with the feature known in climate research as the North Atlantic warming hole, may influence large-scale atmospheric circulation during early Winter 2026–27 across North America and Europe, according to seasonal forecast guidance from major international forecasting centers.
Peru has declared a 60-day state of emergency in 796 districts across 22 departments and the Constitutional Province of Callao on July 2, 2026, because of the imminent threat of intense rainfall associated with the 2026–2027 El Niño phenomenon, activating nationwide preparedness and disaster risk reduction measures.
El Niño conditions have developed in the tropical Pacific Ocean and are expected to strengthen through the Northern Hemisphere winter of 2026-27, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The Climate Prediction Center (CPC) issued an El Niño Advisory on June 11, 2026, after oceanic and atmospheric conditions shifted into an El Niño pattern.
Spain recorded 101 heat-related deaths during May 2026, making it the deadliest May since national monitoring began in 2015, while health authorities warned that heat extremes are arriving earlier in the year and increasing mortality risks across the country.
NOAA and long-range atmospheric forecast models are increasingly showing early El Niño-related circulation signals over North America as forecasters continue monitoring a developing transition away from ENSO-neutral conditions during summer 2026.
La Niña conditions persisted across the equatorial Pacific Ocean during February 2026, but forecasters expect the pattern to transition to ENSO-neutral within the next month. The Climate Prediction Center said on March 12, 2026, that El Niño is likely to emerge during June–August 2026 with a probability of 62% and could persist through at least the end of the year.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reported on March 3, 2026, that the recent weak La Niña is fading, with ENSO-neutral conditions expected to prevail until at least July 2026. Forecast models show about a 40% chance of El Niño emerging by mid-year, although confidence remains limited because of the boreal-spring predictability barrier.
La Niña conditions in the equatorial Pacific show signs of a transition toward ENSO-neutral conditions, with potential for El Niño development later in 2026. Observations from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) show subsurface ocean warming and westerly wind anomalies across the central Pacific, indicating the breakdown of the three-year La Niña phase.
Forecast models suggest that El Niño conditions are likely to develop during 2026, marking a shift from the ongoing weak La Niña. The transition is expected to influence jet stream patterns and temperature anomalies across the United States, Canada, and Europe, potentially reshaping rainfall distribution and winter storm activity in the Northern Hemisphere.
