El Niño phenomenon triggers global weather extremes and marine disruption

The current El Niño phenomenon is projected to be one of the most intense in nearly 80 years, causing significant disruptions to global weather patterns and marine ecosystems. Experts, including Chris Funk of the University of California, Santa Barbara, have noted an “early onset El Niño” that is already driving extreme conditions.

On land, the phenomenon is causing severe droughts and crop failures. Notable impacts include a lack of major storms in parts of Panama, one of the world's rainiest countries, and one of the driest summers in four decades in the Ethiopian highlands. India has also recorded its fifth driest June since modern precipitation records began in 1901.

In the Pacific Ocean, the warming of surface waters is disrupting marine food chains. As trade winds weaken, nutrient-rich deep waters fail to reach the surface, reducing phytoplankton concentrations. This shortage of nutrients impacts the entire food web, affecting small fish and larger predators such as tuna, sea turtles, penguins, and marine mammals. NASA satellite data has been used to monitor these changes through variations in ocean color and chlorophyll levels.