Super El Niño could cause 450,000 heat deaths by February

Nearly half a million people across the world could lose their lives by February due to El Niño-driven extreme heat, according to a sobering new report. El Niño, a natural climate pattern which typically ramps up global temperature, has now crossed into super-sized territory and is on its way to becoming record-breakingly strong. Combined with the global warming the planet is already experiencing from fossil fuel pollution, the heat consequences could be devastating, according to the analysis from the Climate Impact Lab, a team of scientists, economists and data engineers headquartered at the University of Chicago, and published Wednesday. 🌡️ Get your local forecast from the CNN Weather app. Heat is the most deadly form of extreme weather — although heat deaths are not well-tracked, even in rich nations.