Climate scientists warn a potentially record-strong El Niño could push tropical Pacific sea-surface temperatures more than 2°C above average through 2027, creating a 'super' event. Climate models show that rapid warming would reshape atmospheric circulation, driving droughts in Australia and southern Africa, severe floods in western South America, and intense heat waves across South and Southeast Asia. Analysts say those shifts will damage staple crops like rice, coffee and cocoa, threaten more than a tenth of UK food imports from heat stress, and amplify global trade and food-security risks. Governments, traders and humanitarian agencies should prepare for higher commodity prices, strained supply chains and elevated risk of food shortages.
