El Niño conditions are currently present over the equatorial Pacific Ocean and are expected to strengthen further during the southwest monsoon season, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Friday.
The atmosphere has responded to the warming sea surface temperatures, and the coupled ocean-atmosphere system now exhibits characteristics consistent with El Niño conditions, it said.
"Forecasts from the Monsoon Mission Coupled Forecast System (MMCFS) indicate a further strengthening of El Niño conditions during the southwest monsoon season," the IMD said.
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The last time El Niño conditions developed was in 2023. Since 2000, these conditions have emerged in 2002, 2009, and 2015.
It was earlier reported that India is bracing for a very direct impact of the 'Super El Niño'—an exceptionally powerful warming of Pacific Ocean surface temperatures that triggers intense global weather shifts.
Scientific experts have noted that these sudden weather swings are no longer mere anomalies, but signals of a deeper, long-term disruption that is driving food prices to "endemic" levels and threatening the very foundations of the nation’s food security.
Meanwhile, reports claimed that a sudden change in weather conditions has been triggered in New Delhi and nearby regions by a cyclonic circulation over central Pakistan and adjoining areas, which has enhanced atmospheric instability over northwest India, including Delhi-NCR.
The weather activity is expected to intensify from Friday as the system gains strength, increasing the likelihood of thunderstorms, rain, and strong winds across the region.
The prevailing conditions are also expected to bring relief from the heat, with temperatures likely to dip over the next few days under the influence of cloud cover and rainfall.
Delhi recorded a maximum temperature of 38.7 degrees Celsius on Thursday, while the heat index, or "feels like" temperature, touched around 44 degrees Celsius due to high humidity.
The IMD on Thursday said the southwest monsoon is likely to arrive in parts of Jharkhand within the next two to three days. The northeast and central parts of Jharkhand, including the capital Ranchi, experienced pre-monsoon rainfall with strong winds on Thursday afternoon.
"The conditions are favourable for the advancement of the southwest monsoon into some parts of Jharkhand within the next two to three days," the India Meteorological Department said in a bulletin.
