UN and IRC Warn of Severe Humanitarian Impact from Intensifying El Niño Pattern

The United Nations is preparing to release up to $100 million in emergency funding in response to forecasts indicating that a new, intensifying El Niño weather pattern could bring severe droughts, floods, and extreme heat to vulnerable communities worldwide. The International Rescue Committee (IRC) also issued a warning, highlighting that communities across East Africa and Asia, including Kenya, Uganda, Somalia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, are among those most impacted. Experts warn that this El Niño cycle has an unprecedented chance of becoming a very strong event, potentially causing a significant surge in global food commodity prices and compounding disruptions from the Iran war through higher prices and shortages of fertilizer and energy supplies.