The current El Niño episode could be the most intense ever recorded since climate phenomenon measurements began four decades ago. The alert was issued on Thursday by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), a UN agency.
WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo stated during a press conference in Geneva that the phenomenon could surpass all records from the past four decades. According to her, the event could be "more intense than anything observed since monitoring began" and therefore exceed the charts used until now.
The agency's assessment considers the current trajectory of the phenomenon, which could take the episode beyond the levels recorded over the past four decades. The WMO had already issued earlier warnings about the intensity of the event.
El Niño is a natural climate phenomenon characterized by abnormal warming of the waters of the Pacific Ocean, with significant impacts on weather patterns in various regions around the world.
