El Niño is set to intensify and reach its peak in December, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said, forecasting that the phenomenon will persist until February 2027 and could rank among the strongest episodes on record since 1950.

According to the organization, sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific could climb 3.7 degrees Celsius above normal between October and December. That would surpass the previous record of 2.6 degrees, set between November 2015 and January 2016.

WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said monthly climate forecasts put the likelihood of El Niño continuing until February 2027 at close to 100%.