The answer lives in this podcast
How does El Niño form and change weather patterns across the planet?
El Niño is a natural cycle where vast amounts of warm water accumulate in the Pacific Ocean around the equator, releasing substantial heat to the atmosphere. This creates far-reaching ripple effects that dramatically alter weather patterns worldwide—causing severe droughts and lack of rain in some regions while bringing extreme rainfall and flooding in others.
A planetary cycle with widespread disruption
El Niño occurs naturally as the Earth cycles through different climate states. When warm water builds up in the equatorial Pacific, it fundamentally disrupts normal atmospheric circulation patterns. The heat released into the atmosphere doesn't stay confined to the ocean—it travels across the globe.
The effects are already visible across continents. In 2026, this year's El Niño event has transformed weather from Germany to India, disrupting farming communities and water supplies. As explained in the episode, this unusually powerful version has already shattered temperature records and caused significant crop failures.
Modern El Niños are getting stronger
What makes today's El Niño particularly concerning is its intensity. Modern El Niños are approximately 36 percent stronger than those observed in the pre-industrial era. This amplification reflects how human-caused climate change is altering natural systems.
The planet has already warmed by 2.5 degrees Fahrenheit from fossil fuel burning, and this baseline warming is supercharging the natural El Niño cycle. The combination creates more extreme weather swings—deeper droughts in some zones, more catastrophic rainfall in others. A point explored further in Up First from NPR, this phenomenon is just beginning to unfold.
The regions most vulnerable include the Intermountain West and the Galapagos, where El Niño's effects are historically severe. Yet its reach is truly planetary—no continent remains untouched by the cascading atmospheric changes it triggers.
See also
What is castoreum and how was it historically used?
Castoreum is an anal secretion produced by beavers, used historically as a scent marker similar to how dogs mark territory. In medieval times it was valued for fragrance and medicinal purposes.
Why do beavers build dams even in Britain where their natural predators no longer exist?
Beavers build dams instinctively to raise water levels so they can hide underwater from predators such as wolves and bears. This behavior persists even when those threats have been eliminated from a region.
How are beavers being used to fight wildfires in the United States?
Beavers have been released into fire-damaged areas of Washington state following wildfires across the American West. Research has found that areas with beaver activity show improved water retention and vegetation recovery.
Key takeaways
- El Niño is a natural oceanic-atmospheric cycle triggered by warm water accumulation in the equatorial Pacific that releases heat globally.
- The phenomenon causes dramatic, opposite weather effects across regions—droughts in some areas, extreme flooding in others, with visible impacts already on crops and water supplies.
- Modern El Niños are 36 percent stronger than pre-industrial ones, amplified by background climate warming from fossil fuels.
- The 2026 El Niño event is unusually powerful and continues to unfold, affecting weather patterns from Europe to Asia and beyond.