Climate change is supercharging El Niños, coral records show

image via New Scientist

August 27, 2026, 6:00 PM

• •A new study in Science used fossilized coral records from the Galápagos Islands to reconstruct past El Niño strength over roughly the last millennium.
• •The coral evidence suggests El Niños in recent decades are stronger than those in the 20th century and much stronger than in the preindustrial period.
• •Researchers say the Galápagos are a key place to track El Niño because the region sits in the eastern tropical Pacific where the phenomenon has some of its strongest effects.
• •Scientists think warming-driven ocean stratification may be helping intensify El Niño, but they do not yet know whether the trend will continue in the future.
• •Stronger El Niños can worsen global impacts such as drought and wildfires in Indonesia and wetter conditions across the southern United States.

A new study in Science analyzed fossilized corals from the Galápagos Islands to reconstruct how El Niño strength has changed over time. The records indicate that El Niños in recent decades are stronger than those in the 20th century and much stronger than those before industrial-era fossil fuel use. Researchers say warming oceans and increased stratification may make the eastern Pacific respond more strongly during El Niño events. The findings add evidence that human-caused climate change is amplifying a climate pattern with major global effects on drought, fire and rainfall.

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