El Nino sets temperature record in key Pacific zone: EU monitor

An intensifying El Nino broke a temperature record in a key zone of the Pacific in September, the EU's climate monitor said on Monday (Oct 12), in another sign the weather pattern is gaining exceptional strength.



Global forecasters have been warning for months that this El Nino would likely become the strongest ever observed and the latest record has tumbled even before the episode's expected peak later this year.



The warming phase of a natural climate cycle, El Nino raises sea temperatures in the tropical Pacific, triggering changes in weather that can increase the risk of drought and flooding, and exacerbate man-made global warming.



The Copernicus Climate Change Service said sea surface temperatures in a tell-tale El Nino monitoring region of the Pacific, known as Nino3.4, had reached an "all-time high" of 29.70°C last month.



This exceeded the peak temperatures of previously strong El Nino events of 1982/1983, 1997/1998 and 2015/2016, "underscoring the exceptional intensity of the current El Nino", the EU monitor said.



But in a statement to AFP, Copernicus said it "cannot yet say that the current El Nino is the strongest ever recorded".

As climate change raises ocean temperatures, it can make recent El Nino events appear stronger than past ones, complicating historical comparisons.