Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Satellite measurements are showing a sharp surge in sea-surface temperatures across the tropical Pacific in recent months – the clearest early signal that El Niño is back. This powerful climate pattern, and its counterpart La Niña, can supercharge weather worldwide, amplifying extremes from heatwaves and droughts to torrential rainfall, floods and disrupted winter storm tracks, all on top of the effects of the already warming climate driven by human activity.
The animation shows global sea-surface temperature for 1–7 June 2026.
Read full story: https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Pacific_warming_signals_El_Nino_has_stirred
Credits: ESA (data source: CMEMS)
Access the video on the ESA video library: https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos/2026/06/Sea-surface_temperature
Our main YouTube channel: youtube.com/@EuropeanSpaceAgency
We are Europe's gateway to space. Our mission is to shape the development of Europe's space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. Check out https://www.esa.int/ to get up to speed on everything space related.
Copyright information about our videos is available here: https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Terms_and_Conditions
Satellite measurements are showing a sharp surge in sea-surface temperatures across the tropical Pacific in recent months – the clearest early signal that El Niño is back. This powerful climate pattern, and its counterpart La Niña, can supercharge weather worldwide, amplifying extremes from heatwaves and droughts to torrential rainfall, floods and disrupted winter storm tracks, all on top of the effects of the already warming climate driven by human activity.
The animation shows global sea-surface temperature for 1–7 June 2026.
Read full story: https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Pacific_warming_signals_El_Nino_has_stirred
Credits: ESA (data source: CMEMS)
Access the video on the ESA video library: https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos/2026/06/Sea-surface_temperature
Our main YouTube channel: youtube.com/@EuropeanSpaceAgency
We are Europe's gateway to space. Our mission is to shape the development of Europe's space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. Check out https://www.esa.int/ to get up to speed on everything space related.
Copyright information about our videos is available here: https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Terms_and_Conditions
