How the 2026 Super El Niño and Climate Change Are Related

Let's Talk About the Super El Niño and Climate Change Here's what we know about the record-setting El Niño on a record-hot planet, and the most important questions scientists are trying to answer. The tropical Pacific has seen heat build for months as a "super" El Niño takes shape. A climate phenomenon that forms every few years, this year's iteration of El Niño has been on a tear of daily records and is forecast to reach unprecedented strength this winter. While it's characterized by hotter-than-normal waters in the eastern tropical Pacific, El Niño is a global problem. It's fair to wonder how another global problem is interacting with El Niño: climate change, driven by burning fossil fuels.