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Environment & Climate

El Niño is disrupting weather in Indonesia, the Pacific and India

BBC News reports Indonesia's worst wildfire season since 2015, an active eastern Pacific hurricane season and monsoon rainfall 13% below average in India, while the World Meteorological Agency expects El Niño to last until at least 2027.

Updated Oct 20, 2026 · 00:21 UTC1 reports

The short version

  • Indonesia is experiencing its worst wildfire season since 2015, with at least 895,657 hectares burned since January.[BBC News]
  • The eastern Pacific has recorded 22 named storms and 12 hurricanes, and Hurricane Polo produced wind gusts of 180 mph.[BBC News]
  • The Atlantic has had only one hurricane, Isaias, while India's monsoon rainfall is 13% below average.[BBC News]
  • The World Meteorological Agency says El Niño will strengthen and persist until at least 2027, and scientists say it may not be the only factor in India's monsoon.[BBC News]

Key facts

  • Indonesia is experiencing its worst wildfire season since 2015, with at least 895,657 hectares burned since January.[BBC News]
  • The eastern Pacific hurricane season has produced 22 named storms, 12 hurricanes and 10 major hurricanes so far.[BBC News]
  • Hurricane Polo produced wind gusts of 180 mph (285 km/h) during rapid intensification.[BBC News]
  • The Atlantic has had only one hurricane this season, Isaias, which made landfall in the Florida Panhandle and Alabama.[BBC News]
  • Isaias is the latest-forming hurricane on record in the satellite era, which began in the 1960s.[BBC News]
  • India's essential monsoon rainfall has been 13% below average.[BBC News]
  • The Japanese Meteorological Agency reports 10 tropical cyclones have formed in the western Pacific, the highest number in a season since 1966.[BBC News]
  • The World Meteorological Agency says El Niño will strengthen further and persist until at least 2027.[BBC News]

What remains uncertain

  • Scientists suggest El Niño may not have been the only factor affecting India's monsoon, and the Indian Meteorological Department considers 13% below-average rainfall to be within the normal range.[BBC News]
  • The projection that El Niño will strengthen and persist until at least 2027 is a forecast attributed to the World Meteorological Agency rather than an observed outcome.[BBC News]

Sources

Outlet counts describe coverage, not independent confirmation. Reports may share a wire service or original source.