The last twelve months have been the hottest in recorded human history. This relentess pattern is being driven by human-caused climate change, but also El Niño, a natural part of our global weather cycle that results in hotter temperatures. Though we are now entering the colder La Niña phase of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), which should bring some cooler temperatures over several years, some experts say that our heating planet is so out of balance, the cooling could make little difference.
Even though our species' greenhouse gas emissions are raising Earth's temperatures to perilous levels, the La Niña phase is known to cool both ocean and land temperatures, potentially ameliorating extreme weather like heatwaves, wildfires and tropical storms.
