Have you noticed an increase in extreme weather events in recent months? While climate change is a major factor, the recent flooding, storms and wildfires can also be attributed to the El Nino phenomenon.
This warm phase in the Earth’s climate system raises the temperature of the Pacific Ocean and causes significant disruptions worldwide every two to seven years.
Currently, the El Nino event is particularly strong and is expected to continue until 2027.
As climate change continues to warm the planet, we can expect more frequent extreme El Nino events in the future. These photos show just some of its recent devastating effects.
A volunteer looks on as a forest fire burns on San Marcos Hill in Colombia in September. Unicef has warned that millions of children in Latin America are at risk due to El Nino. The effects of this natural event threaten to worsen inequalities and hamper access to basic services. Photo: AFP
A fisherman rows a small boat in Panama City, Panama. Small-scale fishermen in the eastern Pacific are suffering the impact of ocean warming caused by El Nino, which has forced several species to migrate to deeper waters, leaving nets half empty. Photo: AFP
A worker (above) pushes a wheelbarrow through a public cemetery blanketed in thick smoke haze caused by forest and land fires in Indonesia’s Central Kalimantan province last month. Photo: AFP
Resident Elvira Sanchez points to her house, which lost its roof during Hurricane Polo’s passage in the town of Puerto Adolfo Lopez Mateos, Mexico. Photo: AFP
People clear up a flooded pizza restaurant during a storm on September 27, 2026, in New Jersey, United States. Photo: AP
People wade through a flooded street after heavy rain in Bangkok, Thailand. Photo: AP
