Global funding for El Niño preparedness and response is critically insufficient, warns Oxfam, as the weather phenomenon causes widespread humanitarian impacts.

Oxfam has warned that global funding for El Niño preparedness and response, currently at $450 million, is critically insufficient despite the weather phenomenon already causing catastrophic impacts worldwide, including wildfires, crop failures, and severe food and water insecurity. The current El Niño event could be unprecedented in strength, with its impacts expected to intensify and be felt long after its peak towards the end of the year.