NASA spot biggest El Niño sign yet just days after Brits warned of true financial cost this winter
NASA has spotted a sign in the ocean that indicates the El Niño weather phenomenon is quickly approaching, with potentially devastating consequences.
El Niño is caused by unusually warm ocean temperatures in the Pacific, which then disrupts typical weather patterns and can lead to extreme heat, wind and rainfall (or the lack of it) throughout the world.
Scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced there was a 63 per cent chance of ocean temperatures rising 2°C above average this year, meaning it's set to be a 'super' El Niño.
Now space pioneers NASA have seen signs that El Niño is rapidly drawing near.
NASA detects a pulse of warm water off the South American coast
NASA, along with its European partners, are tracking a significant build-up of warm water in the Pacific Ocean, being carried by huge waves known as Kelvin waves.
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Kelvin waves are usually formed when wind patterns in the Pacific begin to blow from in a westerly direction rather than the easterly, which allows warmer tropical waters into the Pacific, leading to rising temperatures.
These waves then travel towards the coast of South America, where sea levels rise.
Several Kelvin waves over a period of months, leading to an accumulation of warm water, is how El Niños are formed.
Though a small Kelvin wave faded earlier this year near Micronesia, another wave formed in March and led to sea levels near Peru rising 5.9 inches by May.
Now data collected by the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite, launched in 2020, has spotted a broad area of 'unusually warm water', reaching hundreds of miles in width, has reached South America, reports Science Daily.
Josh Willis, a sea level researcher at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and project scientist for Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, said: "While this year's event started a bit later than the big El Niños of 2015 and 1997, it's beginning to catch up.
"We'll see how big it gets."
The impact of El Niño could be massive
While El Niño may lead to a hot summer to watch the rest of the World Cup in a beer garden in, it could also bring severe consequences for the United Kingdom and beyond.
Previous El Niños have been responsible for flooding in the UK, while other areas may suffer from severe droughts.
The Cost of Living Crisis has plagued the UK for years now, but El Niño is predicted to make things even tougher as it could lead to further gas shortages, amid the turmoil between USA and Iran in 2026.
The Telegraph reports that El Niño's sweltering summer is expected to send demand for power in Asia into overdrive through the use of air conditioning, leading to a shortage in the UK and Europe ahead of a freezing winter that typical follows El Niño.
"A record El Niño is due this summer. Soaring temperatures could drive Asian buyers back into the market for power generation fuel even as Europe looks to step up injections." Andreas Schroeder, of the ICIS, said.
“El Niño means a wetter, warmer start to winter, but a colder, drier first quarter in 2027. We have estimated for Europe it will need up to seven billion extra cubic metres of gas over the whole winter, just because of these cold weather effects.”
Extreme weather events and disrupted patterns may also have devastating effects on the global food chain, leading to further financial issues for the public.
The World Bank warned in The Financial Times earlier this week that El Niño could cause a major shock to global food prices.
"Beyond developments in the Middle East, the possible emergence of El Niño weather conditions could push food prices above current expectations," the bank said.
Daniel Murphy