WMO Warns El Niño Will Intensify Climate Extremes
The World Meteorological Organization warned on November 9 that a developing, exceptionally strong El Niño is amplifying climate risks and could bring more heat and extreme weather well into 2027. The warning came as the UN climate conference COP31 began in Antalya, Turkey, with negotiations set to run for two weeks.
From January through September, global average temperatures were about 1.47 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial average. The WMO said the last 12 years rank as the hottest ever measured. Ocean temperatures and sea levels have also reached record highs, while greenhouse gas concentrations continued to rise in 2026 after reaching records the previous year.
WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo called El Niño a “risk multiplier,” saying heatwaves, tropical cyclones and rainstorms were intensifying faster than historical baselines anticipated. The organization warned that the pattern could bring floods in some places and heat, drought and fires in others. In Nepal, a late-August ice and rock collapse and resulting flash floods killed more than 1,300 people. A WMO update also said European heatwaves, drought and wildfires caused more than 30,000 excess deaths over the summer.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged leaders to cut emissions faster, move away from fossil fuels and provide finance and protection to vulnerable countries. COP31 discussions are expected to address the shift to clean energy and how much support countries facing climate impacts should receive. Previous climate talks have been marked by disagreements, including opposition from some major oil-producing nations; last year’s final agreement did not mention fossil fuels.
El Niño Warning Puts Fossil Fuel Action at COP31 in Focus
The warning arriving at COP31 is stark: a powerful El Niño is compounding human-driven warming, and the WMO says the consequences will grow into 2027. As leaders meet in Antalya, the central stakes are whether countries will speed the move away from fossil fuels and deliver support to those already suffering the impacts.
Global temperatures from January through September were about 1.47 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial average. The WMO said the last 12 years rank as the hottest ever measured, while ocean temperatures and sea levels have reached new highs. Greenhouse gas concentrations also hit records in 2025 and continued rising this year.
The costs are already visible. A late-August glacier-and-slope collapse, followed by sudden flooding in Nepal, killed more than 1,300 people. European heatwaves, drought and wildfires caused more than 30,000 excess deaths over the summer, the WMO update said. Secretary-General António Guterres urged faster emissions cuts, a just transition away from fossil fuels, and finance and protection for vulnerable countries.
COP negotiations will address clean energy and who pays for climate impacts. Yet major oil-producing nations have pushed back against ambitious action, and last year’s final agreement did not mention fossil fuels. That failure to confront the main driver of the crisis is precisely what makes the coming negotiations consequential.
COP31 Must Address Climate Risks Without Ignoring Who Pays
A powerful El Niño is raising the risk of heat and extreme weather, the WMO warned on November 9, as COP31 opened in Antalya. The immediate challenge is protecting people from those hazards; the negotiations also need to confront the difficult question of who pays for the transition and for climate impacts.
Temperatures from January through September were about 1.47 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial average. The WMO said the last 12 years rank as the hottest ever measured, with ocean temperatures and sea levels also at record highs. The organization expects El Niño to intensify risks into 2027, including heat, drought, fires and flooding.
The human toll is substantial. More than 1,300 people died in Nepal after a late-August glacier-and-slope collapse triggered sudden flooding. The WMO update said European heatwaves, drought and wildfires caused more than 30,000 excess deaths this summer. These risks demand practical preparation and protection, not just promises made at international meetings.
COP31 will address shifting from fossil fuels to clean energy and the amount of support for countries facing climate impacts. Some major oil-producing nations have resisted ambitious measures, while last year’s agreement did not mention fossil fuels. But calls for faster change must also reckon with the conference’s unresolved question of who should bear the costs.
Reported by CNN, Daily Mail US, PBS NewsHour.
