\u201cTwo months ago, I warned that El Nino was arriving on our doorstep. Now it is inside the house \u2014 and turning up the heat,\u201d United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters Friday. \u201cWe have already endured a summer of extremes \u2014 record-shattering heat domes<\/a>; apocalyptic wildfires<\/a> raging in Spain<\/a>, France<\/a> and far beyond; thousands of lives lost in the scorching conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut according to the latest science, this is only a warm-up act,\u201d Guterres said, saying as the El Nino strengthens it will be \u201cadding fuel to a planet already on fire.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe are in uncharted territory,\u201d he said. \u201cThe climate crisis<\/a> is in overdrive.\u201d<\/p>\n Most computer forecast models are showing that this El Nino will likely break the all-time record for intensity when it peaks, sometime late fall or so, but that\u2019s not guaranteed, scientists said.<\/p>\n Chaotic extremes in rain, drought and unheard of heat coming<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A usually submerged patch of land rises from the surface of the Danube River due to low levels of the water following an extended period of drought in Corabia, Romania, July 29, 2026. (AP Photo\/ Nicolae Dumitrache, File)<\/p>\n A usually submerged patch of land rises from the surface of the Danube River due to low levels of the water following an extended period of drought in Corabia, Romania, July 29, 2026. (AP Photo\/ Nicolae Dumitrache, File)<\/p>\n Add AP News on Google <\/p>\n Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n It\u2019s still early in the nearly yearlong life of a typical El Nino to see many direct effects yet, but they are coming, scientists said, agreeing with Guterres\u2019 warnings. El Nino\u2019s effects will combine with the long-term global warming from the burning of coal, oil and gas. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re seeing something that is the warmest July ever recorded for that specific region,\u201d used as an El Nino indicator, Columbia University climate scientist Jeffrey Shaman said. \u201cA year from now, it\u2019s going to be very hot in the Northern Hemisphere. And we\u2019re going to possibly have a summer like we\u2019ve never experienced globally.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Tourists cool off at a public water fountain in Paris, June 26, 2026. (AP Photo\/Christophe Ena, File)<\/p>\n Tourists cool off at a public water fountain in Paris, June 26, 2026. (AP Photo\/Christophe Ena, File)<\/p>\n Add AP News on Google <\/p>\n Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n But before then, the strong El Nino is likely to cause changes in rainfall patterns that will bring chaotic extremes to different parts of the world in fall and winter. There\u2019s a strong chance of drought and wildfires in Indonesia, India and other parts of Asia, south and east Australia, chunks of South America and southern regions in Africa, the WMO warned. Other areas, including much of the United States and fire-struck Southern Europe will get above average rain.<\/p>\n \u201cThis El Nino, developing against the backdrop of unprecedented ocean heat and rising temperatures, provides governments and communities with a window of opportunity to anticipate risks and act before impacts unfold,\u201d said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo. <\/p>\n El Nino amplifies human-caused warming<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Meghana Jalagam uses a fan to keep cool from the hot weather during a World Cup soccer match between the United States and Bosnia and Herzegovina at a watch party July 1, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo\/Paul Sancya, File)<\/p>\n Meghana Jalagam uses a fan to keep cool from the hot weather during a World Cup soccer match between the United States and Bosnia and Herzegovina at a watch party July 1, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo\/Paul Sancya, File)<\/p>\n Add AP News on Google <\/p>\n Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n While El Nino and climate change are separate phenomena, their effects create a harmful combination \u2014 and people aren\u2019t taking the connection seriously enough, Guterres said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe hear much about record heat, drought and wildfires \u2014 but not enough about the real change that is driving these events: the accelerating climate crisis powered by fossil fuels,\u201d Guterres said. <\/p>\n Guterres said the world gets too absorbed by dramatic wars in Ukraine, the Middle East and Sudan to notice the dangers of climate change. On top of that, \u201cthere is a deliberate campaign, namely by the fossil fuel industry and some countries in order to pretend that that the problems that we are witnessing indeed do not exist.\u201d<\/p>\n The U.N. must be more active and mobilize public opinion \u201cto tell governments it\u2019s time to recognize this threat as an existential threat to us all,\u201d he told reporters.<\/p>\n Much of the heat from the burning of fossil fuels gets trapped in the oceans, but \u201cduring an El Nino the ocean in some sense gets to return some of the heated buildups of global warming back to the atmosphere,\u201d Shaman said. Even though this El Nino will end, the released heat sticks around in the air, along with the higher temperatures, which will jump up again the next El Nino, he added.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In this photo made with a long exposure, Bench Fire burns above the Pelton Reservoir in Jefferson County, Ore., July 25, 2026. (AP Photo\/Noah Berger, File)<\/p>\n In this photo made with a long exposure, Bench Fire burns above the Pelton Reservoir in Jefferson County, Ore., July 25, 2026. (AP Photo\/Noah Berger, File)<\/p>\n Add AP News on Google <\/p>\n Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n Guterres called for more early warning systems and cooling systems to handle extreme heat. He said industry and governments need to make work safer, highlighting the garment industry, which has 90 million workers, most of them women. In 17 of the 23 biggest clothing making hubs, dangerously hot days jumped by more than 10% in the past 20 years, \u201cyet most global brands set no heat standard for the factories that supply them.\u201d<\/p>\n But mostly, Guterres said, \u201cthe world must stop fueling the crisis…. More coal, oil and gas will lead to a more combustible future.\u201d<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n Borenstein reported from Washington.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n The Associated Press\u2019 climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP\u2019s standards<\/a> for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"UNITED NATIONS (AP) \u2014 A strengthening El Nino has already broken records for intensity at its early stages,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":613876,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[269],"tags":[90278,582,3898,3477,442,40658,18,440,3334,4071,19,17,8820,1371,10734,32978,583,133,4913,443,4239],"class_list":["post-613875","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-antonio-guterres","tag-astronomy","tag-climate","tag-climate-and-environment","tag-climate-change","tag-droughts","tag-eire","tag-environment","tag-general-news","tag-heat-waves","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-middle-east","tag-natural-disasters","tag-oceans","tag-pacific-ocean","tag-planets","tag-science","tag-united-nations","tag-weather","tag-wildfires"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/117015963513441634","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=613875"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613875\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/613876"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=613875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=613875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=613875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1785521772_414_.jpeg\")
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