Right now · El Niño 2026–27

Who said what, and when

The El Niño–Southern Oscillation, as monitored by NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center and the WMO.

NOAA Climate Prediction Center · ENSO Diagnostic Discussion

NOAA Climate Prediction Center: “El Niño Advisory

Issued 13 August 2026

Issued when El Niño or La Niña conditions are observed and expected to continue.” — NOAA Climate Prediction Center’s own definition of that label

El Niño is strengthening, with a greater than 90% chance of a very strong event during the Northern Hemisphere fall and winter 2026-27. … During the October-December 2026 season, there is a 69% chance of a historic event that would exceed the strength of previous El Niño events dating back to 1950 (+2.5°C or more for a 3-month RONI value). With an event of this magnitude, the chances of experiencing impacts consistent with El Niño are larger, but they are not guaranteed.
Source: NOAA Climate Prediction Center — ENSO Diagnostic Discussion · as of 2026-08-13
El Niño is firmly established in the tropical Pacific. … If this trajectory continues, it may be stronger than anything since our monitoring began - so literally off the charts we have used for the past four decades.
Source: World Meteorological Organization — El Niño/La Niña Update (August 2026), Secretary-General statement · as of 2026-09-03

Thresholds quoted, not applied

  • Warm (red) and cold (blue) periods based on a threshold of +/- 0.5°C for the Relative Oceanic Niño Index (RONI), using the 1991–2020 base period. source ↗
  • +2.5°C or more for a 3-month RONI value source ↗

Next scheduled NOAA Climate Prediction Center update: 10 September 2026

Read the issue (archived) ↗Current page at NOAA Climate Prediction Center

Not a forecast, not a ranking by this site: every label and probability above is quoted from the named issuer.

Append-only

Timeline

One entry per issuance, newest first. Entries are never edited or back-filled: a correction is a new entry that supersedes the one it names, and a scheduled update that has not arrived is recorded as its own entry.

  • 3 September 2026World Meteorological Organization · El Niño/La Niña Update (August 2026), Secretary-General statementissuance
    El Niño is firmly established in the tropical Pacific. … If this trajectory continues, it may be stronger than anything since our monitoring began - so literally off the charts we have used for the past four decades.Show the full quotation ↓
  • 13 August 2026NOAA Climate Prediction Center · ENSO Diagnostic Discussionissuance

    El Niño Advisory

    El Niño is strengthening, with a greater than 90% chance of a very strong event during the Northern Hemisphere fall and winter 2026-27. … During the October-December 2026 season, there is a 69% chance of a historic event that would exceed the strength of previous El Niño events dating back to 1950 (+2.5°C or more for a 3-month RONI value). With an event of this magnitude, the chances of experiencing impacts consistent with El Niño are larger, but they are not guaranteed.Show the full quotation ↓

Observed

RONI and ONI, °C — CPC files, shown as published

RONI and ONI, °C — CPC files, shown as published. Neutral by design: these are oscillation indices with no “worse” direction, so no colour, arrow or ranking is applied here.
SeasonRONI (°C)ONI (°C)
JJA 2026+1.36+1.80
MJJ 2026+0.97+1.39
AMJ 2026+0.49+0.95
MAM 2026−0.04+0.46
FMA 2026−0.44+0.11
JFM 2026−0.76−0.21
DJF 2026−0.91−0.39
NDJ 2025−1.04−0.60
OND 2025−0.98−0.61
SON 2025−0.93−0.57
ASO 2025−0.78−0.43
JAS 2025−0.59−0.26

Source: NOAA Climate Prediction Center — CPC RONI, ERSSTv6, 1991–2020 base period · as of JJA 2026Source: NOAA Climate Prediction Center — CPC ONI, ERSSTv6, centered 30-year base periods updated every 5 years · as of JJA 2026

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