Two UN agencies made an urgent appeal on Wednesday for immediate assistance to support communities already impacted by the strongest El Niño weather pattern on record. World Meteorological Organization Secretary-General Celeste Saulo stated that the current El Niño event could reach unprecedented strength, pushing far beyond monitoring charts used over the past four decades. According to the WMO Global Seasonal Climate Update, sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific might rise to 3.8℃ above average between November 2026 and January 2027. While a 0.5℃ anomaly triggers a WMO alert, Ms. Saulo emphasized that a 3.8℃ gap has no historical precedent and exceeds previous limits of statistical expectation.
Global Impacts and Regional Vulnerabilities
Tom Fletcher, the UN emergency relief chief, described the new El Niño as a behemoth that will likely tear through Latin America, eastern and southern Africa, Asia, and the Pacific with extreme heat, droughts, and floods. The next two weeks are critical for averting a worsening humanitarian crisis. Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya urgently need funding and emergency supplies before heavy rains arrive, while southern Africa focuses on seeds and livestock. Central America requires immediate support to protect livelihoods, and Asian and Pacific nations must brace for droughts, floods, and cyclones. Around 50 million people could face increased hunger due to this phenomenon, and the African Development Bank estimates it will cost African countries between $10 and $20 billion while driving down GDP by one to two percent. To support resilience, the top aid official released more than $50 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund for 11 front-line countries, including Chad, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Somalia, and South Sudan.
Disaster Risk Reduction and Long-Term Preparations
With a devastating El Niño approaching, UN agencies are helping nations integrate disaster risk reduction into shelter and preparedness from the outset. In Chile, the UN Development Programme helped build massive barriers in Antofagasta to hold back mud and debris. Madagascar’s national shelter cluster is developing a five-year humanitarian action plan with pilot projects running since early 2025. In Nigeria, the UN Disaster Risk Reduction office and Global Shelter Cluster brought partners together in June 2025 to create a safer shelter roadmap. In Yemen, UNHCR, UNDRR, and partners supported community-led defenses, such as a 2.5km flood diversion channel in the Al-Hazm district. Furthermore, Mr. Fletcher noted that long-term impacts will strain the humanitarian system alongside global supply chain crunches in the Strait of Hormuz and the Black Sea. Finally, with global temperature rises set to exceed 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, countries must urgently cut emissions to return to the agreed threshold by the end of the century.
Source: Cosmo News Desk
