The Heat Is On and Is Set to Get Worse, According to the WMO | DW News

May 29, 2026 | A new report by the UN’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO) suggests the climate crisis could escalate in the next five years – which could include the warmest year on record. Lead author of the report, Leon Hermanson, says: “There is an El Niño predicted for the end of 2026, which increases the chances of the following year, 2027, being the next record-breaking year.” DW’s Ben Fajzullin speaks to Stanford University climate scientist, Rob Jackson – author of the book “Into the Clear Blue Sky.” They break down the data, talk about the risks of global warming and discuss solutions.

As El Niño Arrives, Australian Region Sees ‘Catastrophic’ Fire Conditions

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The authorities ordered school closures on the south coast of New South Wales, where springtime temperatures were expected to near 100 degrees.

A controlled burn in Sydney, Australia, this month. The area is experiencing temperatures far above normal. | Cordelia Hsu/Reuters
Less than three weeks after the official start of spring in Australia, temperatures in many towns have set records, some as high as 60 degrees above normal. Ski resorts have closed weeks ahead of schedule. At the Sydney Marathon over the weekend, dozens of people were hospitalized after running in a heat wave.

On Tuesday, the authorities said the state of New South Wales was experiencing “catastrophic” fire conditions on its southern coast, with high winds and temperatures approaching 100 degrees Fahrenheit. They ordered 20 schools to close and residents in Sydney, the capital of New South Wales, not to light fires outdoors. Firefighters were already battling dozens of blazes across the country.

And in a possible omen for the months ahead, they also officially declared the arrival of the El Niño weather pattern, heralding the first hot and dry summer in the continent in three years.

Australia is bracing for a particularly dangerous fire season four years after the deadly Black Summer, when wildfires killed or were blamed for the deaths of nearly 500 people and scorched more than 60 million acres. The previous few seasons have had cooler and wetter La Niña conditions. » | Yan Zhuang, Reporting from Sydney, Australia | Tuesday, September 19, 2023

El Niño Planet-warming Weather Phase Begins - BBC News

Jun 8, 2023 | El Niño, a natural weather event, has begun in the Pacific Ocean, likely adding heat to a planet already warming under climate change. US scientists confirmed that El Niño had started. Experts say it will likely make 2024 the world's hottest year. They fear it will help push the world past a key 1.5C warming milestone. It will also affect world weather, potentially bringing drought to Australia, more rain to the southern US, and weakening India's monsoon. The event will likely last until next spring, after which its impacts will recede.