Powerful hurricanes killed several people and left thousands without power in the US and Mexico, as experts warned that this year’s supercharged El Niño risked making storms longer and more destructive. The climate phenomenon, which originates in the Pacific and leads to warmer global temperatures, has upended weather across the world, fueling extraordinary storms in the Americas. “It’s been berserk,” an expert told the Associated Press.
Elsewhere, however, this year’s record El Niño has been welcome news: Forecasts for a warmer-than-usual winter have eased pressures on European and Asian economies — including some of the world’s biggest LNG importers — which are scrambling to contain soaring winter energy bills as expanding global conflicts drive up fuel prices.
— Jeronimo Gonzalez