Ecologists urge scientists and policymakers to study imminent ‘Super’ El Niño to prepare for the future

As many as 188 of India’s scientists and ecologists jointly published an appeal to fellow researchers and field practitioners to prepare for the effects of upcoming El Niño — a global weather phenomenon that dampens the monsoon and leads to extreme hot and dry conditions in the subcontinent.

In the Pacific Ocean where El Niño originates, temperatures have steadily risen above the 0.5°C threshold, reaching +2.6°C in August 2026. Projections report possible anomalies of up to +4°C, which is higher than at any time in the past 1,000 years, based on reconstructions from coral cores, they said.