El Nino likely to last till April, push temperatures up globally: WMO

The ongoing El Nino event is expected to last at least until April 2024 contributing to further spike in global temperatures on land and the ocean, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has warned.

- Jayashree Nandi

The result could be a record warm year in 2024, close on the heels of 2023, which is set to be the warmest ever. For India, the impact could be a warm winter, more fog, and summer heat waves, an expert said.

"El Nino impacts on global temperature typically play out in the year after its development, in this case in 2024. But as a result of record high land and sea-surface temperatures since June, the year 2023 is now on track to be the warmest year on record. Next year may be even warmer. This is clearly and unequivocally due to the contribution of the increasing concentrations of heat-trapping greenhouse gases from human activities," said WMO secretary-general Petteri Taalas.

As of mid-October 2023, sea surface temperatures and other atmospheric and oceanic indicators in the central-eastern tropical Pacific are consistent with El Nino, the warm phase of El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the agency said.