The 2026 El Nino has broken the all-time record for sea surface temperature in the Pacific, months before it is expected to peak.

On September 21, the daily sea surface temperature in the region where El Nino develops reached 3.08 degrees Celsius above the 1991 to 2020 average, the most extreme anomaly ever recorded. The previous record of 3.02 degrees was set in November 2015. On September 29, the daily average hit 85.73 degrees Fahrenheit in the key Nino 3.4 region.

The event emerged in June and is expected to strengthen further into winter. Researchers warn it could add about 1.2 degrees Celsius to global land temperatures in the coming months, fuelling droughts, floods, heatwaves and severe storms.

In India, the weather department has already reported lower-than-average monsoon rainfall, in line with El Nino expectations.

Scientists say every strong El Nino on record has kept strengthening after mid-September. This one shows no sign of breaking that pattern.