SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — As a potentially powerful El Niño takes shape in the Pacific, UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography has launched a new online resource hub designed to help the public understand what the climate phenomenon could mean for California.
The El Niño Resource Hub brings together research, data and expert information from Scripps scientists tracking the developing event. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is forecasting that the 2026-27 El Niño could be along the strongest on record.
The hub is essentially a one-stop shop for information about El Niño — from what causes it and how scientists detect it to its potential impacts on weather, ocean ecosystems and California’s coastline.
What is El Niño?
El Niño occurs when ocean temperatures become usually warm in the central and eastern tropical Pacific. That warming can influence atmospheric circulation and shift weather patterns around the world…