Aug 19, 2026 · 27 min
A historic El Niño threatens crops, floods and delayed heat
El Niño Is Back. And Worse Than Ever.
The episode connects a potentially unprecedented Pacific warming event to immediate weather disruptions and longer-term risks amplified by climate change.
- 1El Niño rearranges Pacific temperatures and winds, sending drought, flooding and crop failures across distant regions.
- 2The event is already unusually strong, raising fears it could rival the most consequential El Niños in recorded history.
- 3Climate change clearly worsens the heat and moisture extremes, but its effect on El Niño’s frequency remains uncertain.
Don't miss
Harlan explains how the 1877 El Niño helped produce drought and famine across multiple countries before anyone understood the global connection.
The brief
Michael Barbaro introduces an El Niño that could become the strongest in centuries, with early disruptions already appearing across several continents.
Chico Harlan explains how warm Pacific water and altered winds reorganize atmospheric circulation, turning a regional ocean pattern into a global weather event.
The 1877 El Niño brought drought and famine across multiple countries before scientists understood the connection; today’s food systems reduce, but do not erase, that danger.
The event is unusually strong before its normal peak, threatening drought, flooding and crop failures while raising fears about consequences that may persist into the following year.
Climate change makes heat, atmospheric moisture, flooding and drought more severe, but scientists still cannot say whether it is making El Niño itself more frequent.
Featuring
Chico Harlan
Climate Prediction Center
PeruListen to the full episode and explore every guest, topic, and moment on PodLume.