El Niño — the periodic warming of surface waters in the tropical Pacific — has returned. The pattern drives weather shifts across much of the globe, sometimes nudging temperatures higher in one region while starving another of rain. How hard any given place gets hit depends largely on how strong the event grows.
What’s known so far
According to NPR, forecasters confirmed the new El Niño formed amid warmer-than-normal water temperatures in the tropical Pacific as of mid-June 2026. The immediate question isn’t whether it’s here; it’s how intense it becomes and which areas bear the worst of the heat and drought it tends to carry with it.
Intensity matters a lot. A weak El Niño can fizzle without leaving much of a mark. A strong one can reshape seasonal forecasts across North America, South America, and parts of Africa and Asia for months — sometimes longer. Forecasters haven’t yet pinned down how this event will develop.
The stakes are real. In 2024, dramatically low water levels hit reservoirs feeding the Guavio Hydroelectric Power Plant in Gachalá, in Colombia’s Guavio Province, during dry conditions tied to El Niño conditions at the time. That kind of infrastructure stress — power generation constrained by drought — illustrates what a strong event can do beyond just uncomfortable temperatures.
El Niño events don’t hit everywhere the same way. Some areas cook. Others flood. And plenty of places see little direct effect at all, though shifting weather patterns in one region can ripple into crop yields, energy demand, and water supplies far from the tropical Pacific itself.
NPR reported the development on Tuesday, June 17, 2026. Forecasters have not yet released projections on peak intensity or duration for this event.
Reporting by NPR. Read the original report.
