El Niño planet-warming weather phase begins

El Niño, a natural weather event, has begun in the Pacific Ocean, likely adding heat to a planet already warming under climate change. US scientists confirmed that El Niño had started. Experts say it will likely make 2024 the world's hottest year. They fear it will help push the world past a key 1.5C warming milestone. It will also affect world weather, potentially bringing drought to Australia, more rain to the southern US, and weakening India's monsoon. The event will likely last until next spring, after which its impacts will recede.

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