Rapid El Niño development poised to approach strongest on record Summer climate responses becoming evident

Sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the equatorial central‑eastern Pacific are rising steadily and are expected to peak around November–December, likely producing a super El Niño event that may well become the strongest in historical records. Since the start of this summer, China's climate patterns have shown the classic fingerprints of a developing El Niño: two major rain belts in the east (north and south), with widespread, intense, and overlapping heavy rainfall events leading to compounding hazards; active and powerful typhoons with prolonged wind and rain impacts.