C1328 words2:45News Report American AccentPublished Aug 27, 2026 · Updated Aug 27, 2026

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A landmark study published in the journal Science has established that human-caused climate change is dramatically intensifying El Niño weather patterns.

The scientific research, led by Julia Cole at the University of Michigan, reveals a troubling feedback loop between global warming and this cyclical phenomenon.

Rather than merely amplifying existing temperature trends, fossil fuels are fundamentally altering the character of El Niño events themselves.

El Niño occurs naturally every two to seven years when waters in the eastern tropical Pacific warm considerably, triggering cascading effects worldwide.

The current event, informally dubbed the "Godzilla" El Niño, is projected to peak later this year and could prove the strongest in living memory.

"Were it not for the compounding influence of greenhouse gas emissions," scientists argue, "such extreme events would occur far less frequently."

Cole emphasized that the findings reveal a reciprocal relationship previously underappreciated by the scientific community.

"Not only does El Niño supercharge global warming, but global warming in turn supercharges El Niño," she cautioned.

This bidirectional intensification represents a significant departure from pre-industrial climate behaviour and signals an era of unprecedented climatic volatility.

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The humanitarian implications are staggering.

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Analysts warn that the ongoing Godzilla event could push an estimated fifty million people into acute hunger before the end of next year.

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Regions already grappling with food insecurity, particularly across sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, stand to bear the brunt of erratic rainfall and prolonged droughts.

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Should governments fail to implement robust preparedness measures, the resulting hunger crisis could dwarf previous emergencies in both scale and severity.

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Cole noted that the trend toward stronger El Niño events is neither coincidental nor a statistical anomaly.

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"The current event is consistent with a discernible pattern of escalation," she argued, adding that El Niño no longer resembles what it did prior to industrialisation.

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With next year virtually certain to shatter global temperature records, the study underscores the urgency of curbing fossil fuel emissions to mitigate the compounding risks posed by climate change.

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El Niño climate patterns supercharged by burning of fossil fuels, study finds

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