Warning of Unprecedented Heatwaves as El Nino Set To Return in 2023

The return of the El Nino climate phenomenon later this year will cause global temperatures to rise "off the chart" and deliver unprecedented heatwaves, scientists have warned. From a report: Early forecasts suggest El Nino will return later in 2023, exacerbating extreme weather around the globe and making it "very likely" the world will exceed 1.5C of warming. The hottest year in recorded history, 2016, was driven by a major El Nino. It is part of a natural oscillation driven by ocean temperatures and winds in the Pacific, which switches between El Nino, its cooler counterpart La Nina, and neutral conditions. The last three years have seen an unusual run of consecutive La Nina events. This year is already forecast to be hotter than 2022, which global datasets rank as the fifth or sixth hottest year on record. But El Nino occurs during the northern hemisphere winter and its heating effect takes months to be felt, meaning 2024 is much more likely to set a new global temperature record.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.