United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres warns that a strengthening El Niño is intensifying global weather extremes and raising the risk of record-breaking temperatures. Multiple outlets report that Guterres describes the phenomenon as “adding fuel to a planet already on fire” and says it is pushing the world into “uncharted territory.” El Niño, which develops in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, warms surface waters and alters winds, atmospheric pressure, and rainfall patterns worldwide. The reporting also links the strengthening El Niño to worsening heat, while emphasizing its broader impact on weather systems, including the potential for heatwaves alongside other extreme events such as flooding and drought. France 24 and others attribute the warning to Guterres speaking to the UN, noting that he previously cautioned that El Niño was approaching. Al Jazeera additionally reports Guterres calls for stopping new fossil fuel expansion, framing the El Niño-driven warming as occurring amid an ongoing climate crisis. Overall, the sources agree that the UN views the strengthening El Niño as a near-term accelerator of already severe climate impacts.