Latest status of El Niño and La Niña
El Niño and La Niña
Latest status (October 2026)
In the past month or so, sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific continued to rise significantly. The El Niño has developed into a very strong event. Based on the latest oceanic observations as well as forecasts by a number of climate models around the world, the warming in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific is expected to intensify further, with El Niño peaking around November to December this year and persisting at least until spring next year. This very strong event is forecast to become the strongest El Niño event on record since 1950.
Figure 1 Sea surface temperature anomalies of 27 September 2026 – 24 October 2026 in degree Celsius.
Note:
The next update will be available in the latter half of November 2026.
Related links:
What are El Niño, La Niña, ENSO?
The impact of El Niño and La Niña on the climate of Hong Kong
Seasonal and annual rainfall charts
Blogs, notes and videos relating to El Niño and La Niña
References on El Niño and La Niña
Seasonal forecast | Annual outlook | Climate change
For further information on this webpage, please contact Ms. M Y Chan (tel:2926 3102, email:mychan@hko.gov.hk)