Strong El Nino 'adding fuel to a planet already on fire', warns UN chief

A strengthening El Nino that could shatter all-time records is "adding fuel to a planet already on fire" and pushing the world into "uncharted territory," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Friday. "Two months ago, I warned that El Nino was arriving on our doorstep," Guterres told the world body. "Now it is inside the house – and turning up the heat." The El Nino weather pattern warms surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, triggering worldwide changes in winds, atmospheric pressure and rainfall patterns, and pushing warmer overall global temperatures. Human-caused climate change can amplify El Nino's impacts because a warmer ocean and atmosphere increase the availability of energy and moisture for extreme weather events, such as heat waves and heavy rainfall. "We have already endured a summer of extremes – record-shattering heat domes; apocalyptic wildfires raging in Spain, France and far beyond; thousands of lives lost in the scorching conditions," said Guterres. "But according to the latest science, this is only a warm-up act." Read moreFrance, Spain eye respite from wildfires as other blazes break out in Europe Pacific waters driving ...