‘El Nino is arriving on our doorsteps with 90% certainty’: UN chief Guterres warns with climate urgency

The world is set to witness a strong El Nino in coming months driven by the unprecedented warming of ocean surface temperatures.

According to the latest update of the World Meteorological Organization, the central and eastern Pacific Ocean have seen the uptick in surface temperatures, which will last between 9-12 months.

As a result of the imminent powerful El Nino, the world must brace themselves for high global temperatures throughout the June–August period and extreme weather patterns in coming months, WMO warned.

And these severe conditions are expected to persist through November. Given the severity of the conditions , WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo has urged global preparedness.

She warned that a potentially intense El Nino could escalate the risk of extreme weather, including prolonged droughts, heavy rainfall, and dangerous heatwaves across both land and marine environments.

In response to the WMO latest update, the UN General Secretary has urged the international community to be prepared for this climate emergency.

Antonio Guterres said, “The science is clear and El Nino is arriving on our doorstep in the coming months with 90% certainty.”

“The world must treat it as an urgent climate warning and El Nino severe conditions will pour fuel onto a fire of warming worlds. And impacts will even hit harder, travel further and cross borders with devastating speed,” he added.

In the end of the keynote address, the UN chief has urged the world to take steps regarding climate actions, such as ending the dependency on fossil fuels, adopting renewables and delivering the early warning systems to protect the most vulnerable segments.

Earlier in May, The European Union’s climate monitor agency issued a warning that ocean temperatures are edging toward record highs. “It’s a matter of days before we are back to record-breaking ocean SSTs (sea surface temperatures) again.”