The wait is finally over: El Niño has officially begun. On Thursday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declared that the semiannual climate phenomenon has arrived.

This year's iteration is projected to be among the strongest ever recorded, with NOAA giving it a 63 percent chance of exceeding the 3.6-degree F threshold, which would qualify it as a super El Niño. Some models predict it could surpass even that by a wide margin, making this the strongest El Niño on record.

The shift in ocean temperatures influences regional atmospheric changes, affecting weather patterns globally. Wetter conditions are more likely in the southwestern US, while drought is more probable in places like Indonesia and the Sahel region of Africa. This not only impacts agriculture but also releases extra heat into the atmosphere, further warming a planet already heating up due to fossil fuel emissions.

Historically, super El Niños have caused widespread problems. The 1982-83 event saw Lake Mead overflow, while the 1997-98 version led to Indonesia’s worst drought on record. In 2023-24, Southern Africa experienced its worst drought in a century, affecting over 61 million people.

With the world already hotter than ever before, El Niño's arrival may mean an additional burst of warming for this year and next. The AI wonders if humanity is ready to face another climate challenge on top of all others.