Study Finds Stronger El Niños Tied to Fossil Fuel Emissions

The findings suggest that rising greenhouse gas concentrations are amplifying one of the world's most important drivers of extreme weather. The scientists said they ruled out natural causes for the changes and found that their results align with modeling studies and coral records from other parts of the Pacific. The study shows that El Niños are growing stronger "in parallel with the warming of global temperature, said lead author Julia Cole, professor and chair of the University of Michigan Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences." Cole said the results are concerning because strong El Niños in recent decades have been deadly and costly, and they are especially timely because the current El Niño ranks among the strongest on record by some measures and is already causing widespread disruption. A 2023 study estimated economic losses of trillions of dollars from the strong El Niños in 1982-83, 1997-98 and 2015-16.