El Niño impacts around the world
A strong El Niño rearranges rainfall and temperature on every continent — some regions flood while others burn. Pick a region on the map or browse the guides below for the historical record and the 2026–27 outlook.
Atlantic Basin
The one El Niño impact that arrives before winter: shear-suppressed Atlantic activity — with the 'it only takes one' asterisk written in 1992.
Australia
Dry east, primed fuels, a wheat belt on edge — Australia faces the sharpest downside of a strong El Niño winter and spring.
California
California's wettest winters cluster in strong El Niño years — and 2026–27 is forecast to be one of them.
East Africa
The October–December short rains arrive loaded: flood and outbreak risk for a region still recovering from its longest drought in decades.
Europe
The teleconnection is faint and fickle — but the coffee in your cup and the reinsurance on your books are exposed all the same.
India
A billion-person economy runs on four months of rain — and El Niño historically loads those months toward deficit. With famous exceptions.
Indonesia
The archipelago sits under El Niño's departing rains — drought, peat fires and regional haze are the historical price of a strong event.
Peru & South America
The place that named El Niño still takes its hardest punch: coastal floods, a collapsing fishery — and a wetter windfall far to the south.
Southeast Asia
From the Mekong Delta's salt lines to Manila's water taps, a strong El Niño squeezes the region that feeds the world its rice.
United States
El Niño loads the dice for a wet, stormy South and a milder North — and 2026–27 is forecast to be a strong to very strong event.