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‘Super El Niño’ Could Make 2026 the Hottest Year Ever

El Niño pushed ocean temperatures to record highs in September, weeks before its peak.

A strengthening El Niño pushed ocean temperatures in a key part of the Pacific to record highs in September and is on track to make 2026 the hottest year on record, the director of the EU’s climate monitoring services said Monday. Global forecasters have predicted for months that this year’s El Niño could be the most intense one yet, but its September highs have come weeks before its December peak. The previous record for daily sea surface temperatures in the central-eastern Pacific in September was set during the 2015 El Niño. As oceans warm due to climate change, it has become harder to compare recent El Niño events with past ones. The Copernicus Climate Change Service said it has adopted a new index to account for warming oceans. Copernicus director Carlo Buontempo said this year’s El Niño is “very exceptional,” but it is too early to tell whether it will be the strongest on record yet. El Niño is a naturally recurring climate pattern that happens about every two to seven years and temporarily raises sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific.