News about El Niño: events, facts and developments on tafs uz.
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The World Bank warned of accelerating growth in energy and food prices due to the war against Iran, conflicts and El Niño. Food prices will rise by 10% in 2026 and energy prices by 32%. The bank has already provided $8.7 billion in emergency assistance to vulnerable countries.
Aziz KarimovNASA has published a comparison of the Pacific Ocean surface height in October 1997 and October 2026. According to a NOAA forecast dated October 8, 2026, the probability of a strong El Niño early next year is 83%. The 2026 event developed faster than in 1997–1998, but differently than in 2015–2016.
Otabek YusupovTyphoon Champi, weakened to a tropical storm, swept across Taiwan and Japan's southern islands, leaving at least one person dead and hundreds injured, hundreds of thousands of households without power, and hundreds of canceled flights. The storm is moving north toward China's eastern coast, where tens of thousands of people have been evacuated in Shanghai.
Aziz KarimovResearchers from CSIRO and the University of Melbourne have established that the accuracy of long-range El Niño and La Niña forecasts depends on the initial state of the Pacific Ocean: forecasts launched during the La Niña phase remain reliable even 12 months ahead. This follows from an analysis of more than 7,500 historical ENSO forecasts, published in Science Advances. Meanwhile, the WMO warns that the current El Niño could be unprecedented in strength, with its impacts lasting until 2027.
Sevara AzamovaTaiwan closed schools, offices and its stock exchange on Friday as Typhoon Champi approached. Hundreds of flights were cancelled, more than a thousand people evacuated, one person died and dozens were injured. Champi was earlier the strongest storm of the year but has weakened; up to 90 cm of rainfall is expected.
Sevara AzamovaPowerful Typhoon Champi is approaching Taiwan: more than 150 flights have been cancelled and over 23,000 troops are on standby. Rainfall of up to 900 mm and waves higher than six metres are expected. China has declared a level-four alert in Shanghai and coastal provinces, and Japanese airlines have cancelled more than 110 flights.
Javlon TursunovThe International Organization for Migration (IOM) warned that from October to December, around 874,319 people in Somalia could be displaced due to floods — 92% of that number attributable specifically to flooding. The organization has secured only 14.4% of the required $16.62 million.
Javlon TursunovThe World Meteorological Organization and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warned that the current El Niño may exceed the observation scales of the past 40 years: sea surface temperature in the tropical Pacific could rise 3.8°C above normal in November 2026 — January 2027. According to UN estimates, up to 50 million people may face worsening hunger. More than $50 million has been allocated for preparedness in 11 countries; the agency heads called for urgent anticipatory action in the near
Sevara AzamovaThe exceptionally strong El Niño of 2026 is causing droughts, floods and threats to food security worldwide. In Argentina, trails to the Iguazu Falls are closed; in El Salvador, livestock is suffering; in Sudan, drought has affected more than half of the territory. British and Japanese meteorologists call the phenomenon a record one, NOAA has not yet declared a record but forecasts it will exceed the 1982 level.
Sevara AzamovaResidents of the Fijian village of Rukurukulevu are switching to solar panels due to high electricity bills amid slowed fuel supplies from the Persian Gulf after the US and Israel struck Iran in February. Fiji's government plans 90% renewable energy by 2035 and investment in solar and hydropower, but fears water and electricity rationing due to El Niño.
Otabek YusupovThe Brazilian government reported that Amazon deforestation from August 2025 to July 2026 totaled 3,335 sq. km — the lowest since 1988 and 41.8% less than the previous year. The success is linked to the renewed PPCDAm plan under Lula. However, fires tripled after the first round of elections, NASA scientists warn of underreported data, and the outcome of the second round on October 25 between Flavio Bolsonaro and Lula may determine the future of environmental policy.
Otabek YusupovThe UK Met Office calls the current El Niño unprecedented, the Japanese meteorological agency calls it the strongest since records began in 1949, while American forecasters believe it still falls short of the largest events in their archives. The discrepancies are explained by different assessment methods: absolute temperatures, anomalies in different zones of the Pacific Ocean, and different baseline periods.
Madina UsmonovaFour members of a firefighting team died and two suffered severe burns while battling forest fires in Bromo Tengger Semeru national park in East Java. Months of fires and toxic smoke forced school closures in Malaysia, worsened air quality in Singapore and Jakarta, and affected more than 2,000 flights. Singapore is investigating companies linked to the fires and is considering action under its transboundary haze pollution law.
Aziz KarimovA joint study by World Weather Attribution and Climate Central found that climate change added nearly 10 km/h to Hurricane Polo, while El Niño added about 8 km/h. Polo became the longest-lasting Category 5 hurricane in the Pacific, holding that status for two and a half days. Some independent experts believe the contribution of climate change may have been underestimated.
Madina Usmonova
