It is often repeated that El Niño is a natural phenomenon. It is, like warm days in summer, rain in autumn, hurricanes in the Caribbean & unusually dry periods in otherwise wet regions. Like all those, however, it is the strength & frequency that is not natural. El Niño is this time at an extreme never before recorded & the scientist who sounded the alarm on climate to the US Congress in the 1980s says ‘The abnormal El Niño strength is itself likely human-driven’. More than 90% of the heat so far trapped by human pollution has been absorbed by the ocean. Now some of it is being released again. 2027 is thus set to be more extreme than 2026, & widely forecast to be the warmest year recorded. That in turn will spark extreme weather of different kinds, including drought & flood, with knock on effects across food, water, infrastructure, the natural world & health. Making preparations for extreme conditions in 2027, & the rest of this year, would be wise. It is also important, I think, for discussions about the intensity of this El Niño to register a likely link with human impacts on the atmosphere & ocean. Or we could just fill the media with coverage about Harry & Megan…