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ClimateActive today · day 3

2026 El Niño breaks 170-year sea temperature record, 2 months ahead of 2015 peak

The Pacific's developing super El Niño has reached 3.05°C above average and continues strengthening through year-end.

newest coverage 5h agosummary written 2d ago24 pieces1.4k likes & upvotes41 comments BlueskyNewswiresMastodonGoogle NewsReddit

What to know

  • The 2026 El Niño has set a new 170-year record for sea surface temperature anomaly at 3.05°C above average, breaking 2015's previous peak of 3.02°C two months earlier.
  • The event is expected to continue intensifying through November and December, making it part of a rare "super El Niño" category.
  • U.S. impacts are anticipated to be strongest between December and March, with cooler, wetter conditions expected in the South and warmer, drier conditions in the North.

“2026 is in a league of its own. We have two months left for this El Niño to continue to intensify. And it will.”

Jeff Berardelli, Chief meteorologist, WFLA-TV · Newsweek ↗ · Sep 20

Jeff Berardelli WFLA-TV chief meteorologistKen Graham National Weather Service directorNOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

2026 El Niño breaks 170-year sea temperature record, 2 months ahead of 2015 peak
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How it unfolded 1 development · click the chart to see its coverage articlesposts

Peak 6 pieces in one hour at Sep 22, 8 AM; 24 pieces over 3 days (17 articles · 7 posts) Sep 21, 8 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Bluesky 1Sep 21, 9 AM — quietSep 21, 10 AM — quietSep 21, 11 AM — 2 pieces · 2 articles — Google News 2Sep 21, 12 PM — quietSep 21, 1 PM — quietSep 21, 2 PM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Sep 21, 3 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Bluesky 1Sep 21, 4 PM — 2 pieces · 2 articles — Newswires 2Sep 21, 5 PM — quietSep 21, 6 PM — quietSep 21, 7 PM — quietSep 21, 8 PM — quietSep 21, 9 PM — quietSep 21, 10 PM — quietSep 21, 11 PM — quietSep 22, 12 AM — quietSep 22, 1 AM — quietSep 22, 2 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Sep 22, 3 AM — quietSep 22, 4 AM — quietSep 22, 5 AM — 3 pieces · 3 articles — Google News 2, Newswires 1Sep 22, 6 AM — quietSep 22, 7 AM — quietSep 22, 8 AM — 6 pieces · 6 articles — Newswires 5, Google News 1Sep 22, 9 AM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Sep 22, 10 AM — quietSep 22, 11 AM — quietSep 22, 12 PM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Sep 22, 1 PM — quietSep 22, 2 PM — quietSep 22, 3 PM — quietSep 22, 4 PM — quietSep 22, 5 PM — quietSep 22, 6 PM — quietSep 22, 7 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Sep 22, 8 PM — quietSep 22, 9 PM — quietSep 22, 10 PM — quietSep 22, 11 PM — quietYesterday, 12 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Reddit 1Yesterday, 1 AM — quietYesterday, 2 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Yesterday, 3 AM — quietYesterday, 4 AM — quietYesterday, 5 AM — quietYesterday, 6 AM — 1 piece · 1 article — Mastodon 1Yesterday, 7 AM — quietYesterday, 8 AM — quietYesterday, 9 AM — quietYesterday, 10 AM — quietYesterday, 11 AM — quietYesterday, 12 PM — quietYesterday, 1 PM — quietYesterday, 2 PM — quietYesterday, 3 PM — quietYesterday, 4 PM — quietYesterday, 5 PM — quietYesterday, 6 PM — quietYesterday, 7 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Yesterday, 8 PM — quietYesterday, 9 PM — quietYesterday, 10 PM — quietYesterday, 11 PM — quietToday, 12 AM — quiet 1
Sep 22yesterdaynow · 1:01 AM ET
  1. 1
    “It's official, the 2026 El Niño has broken a record for the highest ocean anomaly in 170+ years… Incredibly reaching that threshold a full 2 months ahead of 2015's record of +3.02C set on Nov 18th.”
    — Jeff Berardelli
    1. 3 outlets El Niño Isn't at Its Peak. It's Already Strongest on Record

      first by Newser, 1d ago · also BBC, BBC Science

      1 more headline
    2. 1 outlet Super El Niño Poised to Intensify as It Smashes 170-Year Record

      first by Newsweek, 2d ago

    • weatherprof.bsky.social

      It’s official, the 2026 El Niño has broken a record for the highest ocean anomaly in 170+ years… Incredibly reaching that threshold a full 2 months ahead of 2015’s record of +3.02C set on Nov 18th. See that red line? That’s 2026. Every other bold line are the strongest El Niño’s on record. 1/

      weatherprof.bsky.socialBluesky2d ago1.4k▲view on Bluesky ↗
    2 more of the top 3 · 5 posts in this stretch
    • kibcol1049@mstdn.social

      The “jaw-dropping” El Niño currently heating up the planet has burst through the highest temperature ever recorded for the phenomenon, several months before its expected peak.

      kibcol1049@mstdn.socialMastodon1d ago16▲view on Mastodon ↗
    • windjunky.bsky.social

      Sadly the gun has been well and truly jumped by the @theguardian.com with this one. El Niño is not yet the strongest on record, even in the latest weekly data. But it seems almost inevitable that it will be. *you have to use a relative index at least a month long to claim an El Niño record.

      windjunky.bsky.socialBluesky2d ago8▲view on Bluesky ↗
    all of them →
  2. background

    NOAA projects continued strengthening through November and December — A NOAA spokesperson confirmed that El Niño is expected to continue strengthening through November and December, with the strongest U.S. impacts typically occurring between December and March, including cooler, wetter conditions in the South and warmer, drier conditions in the North.

  3. background

    NOAA announces developing El Niño in tropical Pacific — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced that El Niño had developed in the tropical Pacific, three months before the record announcement.

Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet

  1. 1 outlet El Nino weather pattern enters record territory: scientist

    first by Bangkok Post, 2d ago

    1 more headline

and 4 smaller pieces

What people are saying 1 voices from 1 site · best of 5 · verbatim