El Niño Leads To More Global Heating While More Global Heating Leads To Stronger El Nino — Study

New research suggests El Niño, the periodic warming of the Pacific Ocean that shifts weather worldwide, is getting stronger because of climate change, and that stronger El Niños are in turn adding to global warming. Scientists at the University of Michigan studied coral deposits in the Galápagos Islands that record a thousand years of ocean temperature history. They found El Niño stayed fairly steady for centuries, then started swinging much more wildly starting around the time of industrialization, with a sharp jump in variability over the last 40 years. Climate scientist James Hansen and colleagues say the El Niño now forming is already breaking records for ocean heat.

This matters for homeowners mainly through the weather and costs that follow. El Niño years tend to bring heavier rain and flooding to parts of the southern US, while other regions face drought. Researchers point to worsening drought in the Southwest, tied to falling water levels in Lake Mead and Lake Powell, as one likely effect. A UN food agency estimate cited in the research says this year's El Niño could push about 50 million people worldwide into acute hunger, a sign of how far the ripple effects can reach.

No program, deadline, or rebate is tied to this news. It's a reminder that the extreme heat, drought, and storm patterns driving up energy bills and stressing home systems like air conditioning and water supply are linked to the same fossil-fuel emissions scientists say are amplifying El Niño itself.