UN warns El Nino could be ‘off the charts’, strongest in decades

El Nino is set to intensify to exceptional levels in the coming months and persist into early 2027, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has warned, raising the prospect of worsening droughts, floods and extreme heat across the globe.The United Nations weather agency said on Thursday forecasts show a nearly 100 percent likelihood that El Nino will continue through February, the strongest level of certainty it has ever expressed in an El Nino/La Nina update.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Storm Lala strengthens into a Category 1 hurricane as it nears Hawaiilist 2 of 3Governments brace for historic El Nino impacts on global weather extremeslist 3 of 3Panama Canal to limit shipping ahead of extreme weather during El Ninoend of listThe naturally occurring weather phenomenon warms surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, bringing worldwide changes in winds, pressure and rainfall patterns.“If this trajectory continues, it may be stronger than anything since our monitoring began – so literally off the charts we have used for the past four decades,” WMO chief Celeste Saulo told reporters in Geneva, Switzerland. El Nino will peak towards...