Brewing El Nio and roasting oceans push planet into 'uncharted territory' for heat
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Set us as preferred As extreme heat smothered the eastern United States over the July Fourth weekend and Europe struggled with its own deadly heat wave, experts warned that more record high temperatures could be in store for this year because of a strengthening El Niño.“We know that temperatures are warming in the long term, linked to human-caused climate change, and El Niño acts to boost those temperatures temporarily,” climate scientist Zachary Labe of the nonprofit Climate Central said in a recent briefing.
Between June 2025 and April, Labe said, global average surface temperatures were about 1.8 to 2.7 degrees above pre-Industrial Revolution levels.But an average of forecast models suggests global average surface temperatures could be even higher in the winter — perhaps hitting 3.24 to 3.42 degrees above the pre-Industrial Revolution era.
“This would indicate a very high likelihood that we will be breaking new global temperature records in just a few months,” Labe said.California Southern California’s heat wave tied or broke 30 daily heat records on Wednesday with the worst heat yet to come, according to the National Weather Service.While California escaped oppressive heat conditions this weekend, officials issued a heat advisory for Tuesday through Thursday, when temperatures could hit 90 to 103 degrees across inland areas of Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.Beyond California, scientists are raising alarms over the planet’s warming oceans, which — coupled with a strong El Niño — could increase temperatures for land dwellers in the coming weeks.
On Wednesday, officials confirmed that the global sea surface temperature in June hit a record for this time of year.“Current conditions could indicate the beginning of a new phase, leading, once more, to uncharted terr...