Galápagos at the heart of El Niño — wildlife offers clues on how oceans will cope with warming

Full text

In this week’s newsletter: the archipelago at the centre of the extreme weather phenomenon could help scientists predict how other marine ecosystems will adapt to our warming climate

• Don’t get Down to Earth delivered to your inbox? Sign up here

The ocean waters around the Galápagos Islands are hot. Very hot. Observed for centuries in the Pacific by fishers, the El Niño weather phenomenon begins when the prevailing trade winds slow, allowing warm water to spread east along the coast of South America. Right now, the pattern is in full flow and will build from this year into next, likely bringing record temperatures to an already overheating world.

If 2026 is not the hottest year on record, 2027 surely will be – and the Galápagos archipelago is in the centre of this climate crisis.

‘It’s only going to get worse’: wildfires forcing firefighters to make impossible choices

Millions face long-term coastal flooding risk in UK without climate action, scientists warn

Slowdown in Arctic ice melt ends after largest winter decline on record

Continue reading...