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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
Jonathan Watts

YOU WONT BELIEVE: What is el nino what causes it and can we reduce the risks - You Need To See This

A dog walks on cracked ground at the dried-up Guarne Lagoon in Arví Park amid drought conditions linked to the El Niño phenomenon in Medellin, Colombia
Cracked ground at the dried-up Guarne Lagoon in Arví Park amid drought conditions linked to the El Niño phenomenon in Medellin, Colombia, 3 September 2026. Photograph: Juan David Duque/Reuters

This year’s huge El Niño, which comes less than two years since the last one, has already broken temperature records. To understand what is happening, and why, the Guardian interviewed Prof Mat Collins, a climate scientist at the University of Exeter, the author of some of the world’s most important climate reports and an expert on the dynamics of the El Niño southern oscillation.

What is El Niño?

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