Month: May 2026

The expected return of the El Niño weather pattern, supercharged by climate change, is shaping up to be the next test for a global economy already strained by the fallout from the Iran war. 

El Niño occurs every few years when trade winds of the tropical Pacific weaken and the ocean warms up. It typically lasts up to a year, peaking around year-end, and tends to bring dryness and heat to much of Asia and wet weather to various places, including the Gulf Coast. 

The diverse outcomes of the last El Niño, from 2022 to 2023, included a rice export ban in India, a dengue epidemic, low water levels in the Panama Canal, devastating floods in Brazil and more expensive chocolate. 

Forecasters in the U.S. and elsewhere say El Niño is highly likely to form this year. Very hot ocean temperatures mean it has the potential to be a severe one, but it’s too early to say.

https://www.wsj.com/business/energy-oil/el-nino-is-the-next-risk-hanging-over-the-global-economy-810c4b47?st=hj83Pp&reflink=article_email_share

The Colorado River is running dangerously low, and the seven Western states that rely on it can’t agree on how to share what’s left.

A deal deadline came and went in February, leading the federal government to threaten its own solution—one that would keep the dams generating power, but likely bring painful cuts to water use. “We’re positive about one thing—no one will be satisfied,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said last month.

The river provides water for 40 million people and more than 5 million acres of farmland. Its dams produce electricity for millions of people.

The current crisis is rooted in a compact Western states made in 1922. Officials overestimated how much water the river would provide. By the 21st century, as drought gripped the region, it became harder to meet the deal’s water-allocation obligations. The diminished water supply, coupled with a growing population, has led to years of shortfalls.

https://www.wsj.com/us-news/climate-environment/the-colorado-river-is-on-the-brink-of-disaster-628516be?mod=Searchresults&pos=1&page=1