Worst of El Niño Yet to Come, Peak Likely in December, Says UN Body

Gist The World Meteorological Organization WMO has warned that the ongoing El Niño phenomenon will peak between October and December, triggering above-average temperatures and shifting rainfall patterns globally. This intense warming of the Pacific Ocean is expected to persist well into the spring, significantly elevating the risk of severe droughts in some regions and floods in others. For a civil services aspirant, understanding this mechanism is critical, as it directly explains recent deficits in the Indian monsoon and dictates the trajectory of domestic agricultural and disaster management policies. Background The El Niño Southern Oscillation ENSO is a naturally occurring ocean-atmospheric phenomenon that recurs every two to seven years . It operates in three distinct phases: warm El Niño , neutral, and cool La Niña . An El Niño event is officially declared when sea surface temperatures along the equatorial and central Pacific Ocean rise unusually high, exceeding a threshold of 0.5°C above the long-term normal. The World Meteorological Organization WMO , a specialized agency of the United Nations, monitors these climatic anomalies and provides the foundational forecasts that governments use…