Bulletin

Weekly bulletin

This week's Pacific numbers, in plain language.

What the equatorial Pacific did this week, in NOAA numbers and plain language, plus the regions most likely to feel it.

NOAA observation week:

Published by El Niño Observatory

Analysis generated:

This week's take

The Pacific warmed. Weekly Niño 3.4 anomaly: +2.4 °C, +0.2 °C from last week. Ocean data, not a local weather warning.

Weekly Niño 3.4: +2.4 °CTraditional ONI: +0.95 °C · AMJ 2026

In the central equatorial Pacific (Niño 3.4), the weekly sea-surface temperature difference from the 1991–2020 average is +2.4 °C. This reading alone does not establish an event's official strength.

NOAA's current ENSO advisory and RONI

In February 2026, NOAA CPC adopted the Relative Oceanic Niño Index (RONI). Traditional ONI and weekly temperatures use different averaging methods; they are not interchangeable measures of event strength.

NOAA's current ENSO advisory and RONI ↗

Niño 1+2

+3.8 °C

SST 25.2 °C

Niño 3

+2.8 °C

SST 28.2 °C

Niño 3.4

+2.4 °C

SST 29.4 °C

vs +2.2 °C last week

Niño 4

+1.0 °C

SST 29.7 °C

The ocean this week

For the week of July 29, 2026, Niño 3.4 stood at +2.4 °C (SST 29.4 °C). That is +0.2 °C from last week's +2.2 °C. Niño 1+2 was +3.8 °C, Niño 3 +2.8 °C, and Niño 4 +1.0 °C. 8-week trend: warming.

What that means

These warmer Pacific waters are associated with a tendency for drier conditions in places like Indonesia and Australia, and wetter conditions in parts of South America. However, these effects can vary.

What to watch next

It's important to follow NOAA's official advisories for any developing climate patterns and to check local weather forecasts for specific conditions.

Regions most likely affected

Places with a documented El Niño link, ranked using this week's NOAA readings. Not official warnings.

Indonesia & Malaysia

Drought / water / fire risk

Severe drought dries peatlands, fueling large forest fires and haze that drifts across borders; rice and palm yields fall.

Jakarta · Palembang · Pontianak · Surabaya

Eastern Australia

Extreme heat

Reduced rainfall and heatwaves raise bushfire danger and strain water supplies along the populous east coast.

Brisbane · Sydney · Canberra · Melbourne

Peru & Ecuador coast

Flooding / extreme rain

Warm coastal waters drive torrential rain, flash floods and landslides. Historically the hardest-hit zone of any El Niño.

Guayaquil · Piura · Trujillo · Lima

Southern Brazil, Uruguay & NE Argentina

Flooding / extreme rain

A strengthened subtropical jet brings persistent extreme rainfall. The 2023-24 Rio Grande do Sul floods are the textbook example.

Porto Alegre · Pelotas · Santa Maria · Florianópolis

Amazon & Northeast Brazil

Drought / water / fire risk

Fewer rain-producing storms bring severe drought, record-low rivers, fires and crop failure across the Amazon basin and the semi-arid Northeast.

Manaus · Santarém · Belém · São Luís

Central America: Dry Corridor

Drought / water / fire risk

Failed rains across the Dry Corridor threaten subsistence maize and bean harvests, deepening food insecurity.

Guatemala City · San Salvador · Tegucigalpa · Managua

Earlier weeks

Numbers: NOAA CPC weekly OISST and Oceanic Niño Index. The interpretation is our own.

Historical observations may be revised by NOAA. The seasonal index includes only seasons completed by this observation week. These are NOAA's current figures, not the numbers as first published.

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