Urban residents and farmers alike are bound to feel anxious, as weather forecasters around the world point to a likely El Nino climate phase setting in during the later part of 2026. It is true that there is no consensus on the scale of this familiar phenomenon that could make next year the hottest on record, but the earliest projection from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) is strongly positive for a super El Nino year.

Uncertainties mark the extent of impacts of such weather phenomena, which arise from higher sea temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean, but they clearly influence the course of drought, floods, and hurricanes worldwide.

Two severe El Nino years in the recent past, 1997-98 and 2015-16, had varying........

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