El Niño is often described as a climate phenomenon: a periodic warming of the tropical Pacific that disrupts weather patterns across much of the world. But for millions of people, that description is too clinical and too distant. El Niño is also a public-health warning. The latest episode should remind governments that extreme weather is not merely an environmental problem to be dealt with by meteorological departments and disaster-management agencies. It is a health emergency waiting to happen. The World Health Organization’s latest assessment of El Niño 2026 highlights the familiar chain of risks: extreme heat, floods, drought, wildfires, food insecurity, infectious diseases and disruption to essential health services. The lesson is straightforward: by the time patients begin arriving at emergency departments, it is often already too late to call the response a preparedness strategy. El Niño does not produce the same weather everywhere. In some regions it can bring excessive rainfall and flooding; elsewhere, drought and heat become the greater threat. Those conditions can alter the spread of mosquito-borne and waterborne diseases, damage crops, threaten drinking-water supplies and worsen malnutrition. WHO notes that El Niño can also affect health infrastructure itself, precisely when communities need it most. The greatest weakness is therefore not a lack of scientific knowledge. El Niño can be anticipated months in advance. Seasonal climate information can give health authorities time to prepare for predictable risks. The real weakness is turning that information into action. A health ministry should not wait for a heatwave before asking whether hospitals have enough electricity, water, medicines and staff. Disease-control programs should not wait for an outbreak before strengthening surveillance in areas where changing rainfall and temperature may favor mosquitoes. Food authorities should not wait for harvest failures before assessing the nutritional consequences of drought. Nor should preparedness end at the hospital gate. Extreme weather exposes the inequalities that already exist in society. A family with reliable electricity, clean water, secure housing and access to healthcare can withstand a heatwave or flood differently from a family living in an informal settlement. An outdoor labourer cannot simply avoid dangerous temperatures by staying indoors. A child suffering from malnutrition has fewer reserves when food prices rise or clean water becomes scarce. This is why........

© The Patriot