A study published today reveals that the burning of fossil fuels has significantly amplified the strength of recent El Niño events, including a ‘Godzilla’-scale episode now forming in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. El Niño is a natural climate cycle that occurs every two to seven years, marked by warming ocean waters that trigger cascading weather disruptions worldwide. However, researchers found that these events have been supercharged by the broader overheating of the planet, leading to more extreme and potentially devastating impacts.

The current El Niño, which is set to peak later this year, has been informally dubbed a ‘Godzilla’ event due to its expected intensity — forecast to be the strongest in living memory. The study warns that this phenomenon could push as many as 50 million people into acute hunger before the end of 2027, as altered rainfall patterns disrupt agriculture, trigger droughts in some regions, and unleash floods in others.

Oliver Milman, reporting for The Guardian, noted that the study’s findings underscore the interplay between anthropogenic climate change and natural variability. While El Niño itself is not caused by human activity, the researchers argue that a warmer planet provides more energy for these events to escalate, making them more powerful and frequent.

The study adds to a growing body of evidence linking fossil fuel emissions to extreme weather patterns. Scientists have long observed that climate change amplifies the intensity of heatwaves, storms, and droughts, but the new research specifically connects it to El Niño’s recent behavior. The findings come as global carbon emissions continue to rise, despite international pledges to reduce them.

Critics of the study may point out that El Niño forecasting remains an imprecise science, and that natural variability complicates attribution. However, the researchers controlled for these factors, using advanced climate models to isolate the influence of fossil fuel emissions. The consensus among climate scientists is that the results are robust, though some uncertainty remains about the exact magnitude of the impact.

The lead author of the study emphasized that the findings are a call to action. ‘We are not just dealing with natural cycles anymore,’ they said. ‘The human fingerprint is clear, and the consequences are severe.’ Emergency response agencies and governments in vulnerable regions, particularly in East Africa, Southeast Asia, and parts of South America, are already preparing for the potential fallout, including food shortages and displacement.