Latest status of El Niño and La Niña
El Niño and La Niña
Latest status (August 2026)
In the past month or so, the sea surface temperatures of the central and eastern equatorial Pacific continued to rise significantly and stayed above normal. Based on the latest oceanic observations as well as forecasts by a number of climate models around the world, the warming trend in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific is expected to continue. The situation is forecast to develop into an El Niño event in late summer and persist at least until spring next year. It is expected to strengthen into a very strong event and peak around November and December this year, with a chance of becoming the strongest El Niño event on record since 1950.
Figure 1 Sea surface temperature anomalies of 26 July 2026 – 22 August 2026 in degree Celsius.
Note:
The next update will be available in the latter half of September 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)