A powerful El Niño is developing in the Pacific, and some scientists say it is so intense that it may not fit within the existing naming system. The event could break records and bring significant weather disruptions.
Daniel Swain, a weather and climate research scientist at UCLA’s Institute of the Environment, has spent his career studying extreme events amplified by a warming planet. His focus includes fires, floods, droughts, heat waves, and storms, and this El Niño appears to be another such extreme.
Because the event is still unfolding, researchers are closely monitoring its development. The lack of a scientific name for its intensity highlights how unusual this El Niño may be compared with past events.