Scientists are predicting that the world could experience not only an El Niño weather pattern, but possibly a super El Niño.

The European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) said there is a high chance of a super El Niño affecting weather this summer or fall, cementing the prediction the organization made last month, The Washington Post reported.

El Niño is warm water in the Pacific Ocean that is 0.5 degrees Celsius above the long-term average, which then affects other regions’ weather, CNN reported.

A Super El Niño is when the temperatures are more than 2 degrees Celsius above the long-term average.

Super El Niño systems happen about every 10 or 15 years, and are more intense than regular El Niños, the Post said.

The weather phenomenon could push global temperatures to record levels, especially next year.

There is a “real potential for the strongest El Niño event in 140 years,” State University of New York at Albany atmospheric science professor Paul Roundy said on X.com.

If it does intensify, it could cause flooding in some regions while drought and wildfires in others, CNN explained.

The prediction, according to Nat Johnson, a meteorologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, “gives us an early heads up on changing risks for many weather-related phenomena, including floods, droughts, heatwaves, hurricanes and severe thunderstorms,” CNN reported.

“These weather and climate impacts modify crop yields, disease spread, coral bleaching, fisheries and many other parts of the earth system that affect our daily lives,” Johnson added.

But while it is a potential super El Niño, Johnson said there is still uncertainty about how strong the system could be, and that it is still early; spring predictions are not as accurate as those done later in the year, CNN reported.

© 2026 Cox Media Group