United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres described El Nino as an “urgent climate warning.” “El Nino conditions will pour fuel on the fire of a warming world,” Guterres said in a video message. The weather pattern’s effects vary by region. El Nino often dampens – but doesn’t eliminate – Atlantic hurricane season activity, but increases it in the Pacific. So while the US East and Gulf coasts may get a break, Hawaii and other islands are more in danger, Frazier said. The drought-stricken Middle East could
benefit, climate scientists said. Other places are looking at more danger. Parts of western South America – where the first El Ninos were noticed decades ago – often get heavy rain and floods, along with an extra warm summer. India faces more intense heat waves, while drought, wildfires and heat threaten Australia. Northeastern Africa is likely going to get weather whiplash from intense drought to dangerously heavy rains, said Columbia University climate scientist and El Nino expert Muhammad Azhar Ehsan. In the US, El Ninos
can cause more intense storms with heavier rainfall in the South, but they also tend to generally benefit the US agriculture industry, said Jon Gottschalck, operational branch chief at NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center.
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