The Strongest El Niño Ever?

Описание: In early October, one stretch of the Pacific ran 3.3 °C above normal, the highest weekly reading since NOAA's weekly records began in 1981. Is this the strongest El Niño ever, and what is an El Niño anyway? The twist: as of mid-October, on NOAA's official yardstick it is strong but not a record yet (+1.7 °C for July to September, against +2.4 °C in 1982-83), because the record depends on the ruler. Here's the answer, mostly. NOAA's next monthly El Niño discussion is due 12 November 2026.

Chapters
0:00 A record reading
0:43 What a normal Pacific looks like
2:07 How El Niño flips the Pacific
4:08 Which ruler measures strength?
7:13 What it may do: odds, not guarantees
10:04 The answer, mostly

Real images and sounds in this video
• Satellite sea-level map, 18 May 2026 (Sentinel-6): NASA/JPL-Caltech, generally not copyrighted.
• Sea surface temperature anomaly map, 14 Oct 2026: NOAA/OAR/PSL, Boulder, Colorado, USA; public domain, unaltered.
• Winter precipitation outlook map (cropped): NOAA; public domain.
• Map outlines: Natural Earth; public domain.
Everything else is an illustration, not real footage.

Sources
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Music: original score made with AI. Narration: AI voice. Figures as of mid-October 2026.