Scientists Say the Current El Niño is now the Largest in History

According to a report published by New Scientist, this year’s global El Niño event is now the biggest ever recorded. While the most widely known effects are still on the way – from massive rainfall to record swells and storms – the report says that the havoc El Niño is unleashing across the globe is blowing away the ’97-’98 event. Globally, that El Niño took more than 20,000 lives and caused almost $100 billion in damage from floods, droughts, fires, and more. Right now, one key ingredient that predicts an El Niño’s intensity that has outgrown that of the previous century’s El Niño is surface water temperature. On November 26, 1997, water temperatures in the Central Pacific Ocean were 2.8 degrees (Celsius) above average