The current El Niño event is shaping up to be the most powerful on record, with sea surface temperatures in a key area of the Pacific Ocean already more than 2°C above normal — far exceeding the 0.5°C threshold used to declare the phenomenon. The UK Met Office warns that temperature anomalies could surpass 3°C later this year as the event nears its peak, a level unprecedented in records dating to 1950 and likely the strongest since the 19th century. Some climate groups project an even more extreme scenario of up to 4°C above average, with Berkeley Earth scientist Dr Zeke Hausfather suggesting it could potentially rank as the strongest El Niño in 500 to 1,000 years, driven in part by exceptionally warm deep-ocean water acting as a reservoir of heat.