Latest status of El Niño and La Niña
El Niño and La Niña
Latest status (May 2026)
In the past month or so, the sea surface temperatures of the central and eastern equatorial Pacific continued to rise. Sea surface temperatures of the region became above normal in April 2026. Based on the latest oceanic observations as well as forecasts by a number of climate models around the world, the warming in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific is expected to continue. The situation is forecast to develop into an El Niño event during summer or autumn and persist at least until the end of this year or early next year, reaching moderate intensity or above, and the probability of a strong El Niño event is gradually rising.
Figure 1 Sea surface temperature anomalies of 26 April 2026 – 23 May 2026 in degree Celsius.
Note:
The next update will be available in the latter half of June 2026.
Related links:
What are El Niño, La Niña, ENSO?
The impact of El Niño and La Niña on the climate of Hong Kong
Seasonal and annual rainfall charts
Blogs relating to El Niño/La Niña
References on El Niño and La Niña
Seasonal forecast | Annual outlook | Climate change
For further information on this webpage, please contact Ms. M Y Chan (tel:2926 3102, email:mychan@hko.gov.hk)