WMO warns El Nino will be strongest on record with extreme weather hazards

Climate experts have issued a renewed warning over this year's El Nino, which is expected to be the strongest on record. According to the World Meteorological Organization, the climate phenomenon threatens to unleash multiple hazards that could impact agriculture and food security, water resources, health, and marine ecosystems and fisheries. Officials have urged governments and communities to prepare now as all aspects of society are likely to be affected in some parts of the world.

The global turbulence is taking shape differently across regions. Reporting highlighted by the Mirror indicates that the WMO specifically named seven different places facing a multitude of hazards: South Africa, Mozambique, Malawi, Madagascar, Tanzania, the Seychelles, and the Mascarene Islands. Southern parts of the region need to strengthen preparedness for drought, water stress and food-security risks, while northern and wetter areas need to prepare for flooding and landslides. Island states also require a flexible multi-hazard approach encompassing extreme heat, heavy rainfall, marine impacts, and tropical cyclone risk.

Media additions

Meanwhile, winter weather predictions point to colder temperatures in the south, icy days up north, and sudden downpours in the middle of the desert. More frequent storms will likely dump rain on communities from Southern California to Texas, while the Great Lakes region should be ready for long periods of sleet, icy rain, and wet, heavy snow. The Northeast faces a complicated winter pattern with coastal communities ready for rain or mixed rain-and-snow, while inland cities anticipate heavy, wet snow. The southern Rockies should gear up for sleet, freezing rain, and heavy snow as wetter air meets cooler temperatures, and the southern storm track extends through the Gulf Coast.

North of the border, Canadians have already faced a tumultuous season. Intense storms in Western Canada have caused severe flooding, particularly in Manitoba, where a storm ripped apart a house in southwest Winnipeg and threw barbecues across yards. Parts of Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia have been under heat waves and thunderstorm watches, while the North has been plagued by wildfires. Kingston was briefly under a tornado warning, and Canada Day celebrations in Ottawa were cancelled amid thunderstorms and flooding. Environment and Climate Change Canada meteorologist Jennifer Smith noted that the country has experienced extensive wild weather, pointing out that Canada is warming at roughly double the global rate and close to four times that in the Arctic, which intensifies the baseline driving extreme heat and erratic precipitation.

Further compounding regional extremes, severe storms recently battered Australia's east coast. A man died and thousands of households were left without power after severe thunderstorms and damaging winds battered the east coast on a day that also brought extreme and catastrophic fire conditions to large parts of New South Wales. Households across Sydney, the Central Coast and the Hunter regions lost power from damaging winds and an east-west thunderstorm band that rapidly cooled the city. A Central Coast man was fatally struck by a falling tree during a storm in Glenworth Valley, and power outages stopped trains between Parramatta and surrounding stations, causing significant delays during the afternoon peak period.

Experts emphasize that while natural cycles drive much of this variability, broader atmospheric shifts amplify the severity. Scientists studying the Canadian climate note that shifting jet stream patterns—the fast-flowing boundary of air high in the atmosphere separating cold northern air from warmer southern air—can get stuck in a certain position and cause different forms of extreme weather in different areas. At the same time, researchers point out that while El Nino itself is naturally occurring, climate change may make events stronger when they take place.

Communities and governments are urged to maintain preparedness as meteorological agencies continue tracking the evolution of these global weather patterns through the upcoming seasonal transitions. Weather monitors and forecasters advise staying informed, monitoring local alerts, and using history as a guide for what to expect in the seasons ahead.