La Jornada: El Niño Godzilla could make 2027 the hottest year in history

A rare weather phenomenon called Godzilla Kid. It is expected to push global temperatures to record levels from the end of this year until 2027, scientists warn, potentially causing extreme weather events that affect people and wildlife.

This climatic phase usually occurs two to three times per decade and causes spikes in global temperatures, in addition to affecting precipitation patterns. It has also been widely predicted by scientists, including those at the British Meteorological Office and NASA.

It occurs because sea surface temperatures in the central Pacific have risen faster than usual in recent weeks and have exceeded the thresholds used to identify the onset of freezing conditions. The Child.

Gabi Hegerl, professor of climate system science at the University of Edinburgh, told The Independent: “The Child “It causes widespread impacts around the world and generally raises global average temperatures by exposing more of the ocean surface to warmer waters, so we expect record global average temperatures.”

In addition, the phenomenon is expected to be exacerbated by the emergence of another similar weather pattern: a positive Indian Ocean dipole, which also tends to lead to a longer and more arid dry season in Indonesia and Australia, increasing the risks of fires and droughts and leading to extreme climate impacts on a global scale. Consequently, Indonesia was the country that named it Godzilla Kid.

Chris Brierly, professor of climate sciences at UCL, told The Independent: “the forecast undoubtedly points to a Niñoand one of the most intense; For someone who is suffering the effects, it is not going to be important if it is a Niño Godzilla”.

Meteorologists monitor ocean temperature anomalies to predict the characteristic indicators of a Niño imminent, and current readings suggest that the 2026-2027 phenomenon could be the most intense in modern history. It is generally considered that the conditions of The Child They are on their way when the water temperature in the Pacific Ocean reaches 0.5 degrees Celsius above normal. Data from the Meteorological Office show that this threshold has already been exceeded.

“NASA’s forecast does not seem credible to me, but in the column that I am observing, NASA reaches up to 3.5 degrees Celsius,” said Professor Brierly. “Be that as it may, it is a phenomenon that is coming and that will be intense.”

He added: “Instead of it being cold around the Galapagos Islands and hot in Indonesia, it actually diffuses a little bit and precipitation, convection and clouds move towards the central Pacific. Obviously, if what drives much of the atmospheric circulation around the world moves, if it moves and weakens, it’s going to affect the rest of the global climate.”

In addition to drought conditions in Australia and Indonesia, in North America the consequences could translate into an increased risk of intense storms later in the year, which could bring unseasonable heat waves and torrential rains, increasing the risk of flash flooding and damage caused by such precipitation.

Timothy Osborn, professor of climate sciences at the University of East Anglia, explained to The Independent that, during The Childthe “huge region of convective storms (in the Pacific) that forms determines global weather patterns.”

Likewise, he explained that, when The Child It shifts the region with the greatest convective storm activity to the central Pacific, becomes wetter, but causes drought in the western Pacific (Indonesia and the Philippines) and a greater risk of drought in more distant places, such as India and Australia.

“It also causes wetter conditions with a higher risk of flooding in some regions, such as the coasts of Ecuador and Peru, as well as in parts of the United States and Mexico,” he argued.

“And The Child is exceptionally strong, as some meteorologists predict, some of these impacts could be very significant and have repercussions on society, such as an increased risk of wildfires, deteriorating air quality and poor harvests in regions where The Child causes droughts,” he added.

The Meteorological Office agrees that the prediction models suggest that the phenomenon of The Child of 2026-2027 will be “potentially comparable to some of the most shocking episodes of past decades.”

Regarding the time frame, the effects of The Child They start to peak towards the end of the year and usually end around February.

“I think we’re going to see weather events that we’ve never seen before in modern history,” Jeff Berardelli, chief meteorologist and climate specialist at WFLA-TV in Florida, said last week.