Global Scans · Climate · Weekly Summary

• [New] The 2026-27 El Nino - which forms when changes in wind patterns allow warmer water to spread across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific - has a historically unprecedented chance of developing into a very strong event fuelling heatwaves, flooding and stormier weather. The Guardian
• [New] Economists are warning that a super El Nino weather cycle in 2026 could cause a severe shock to global food prices lasting into 2028. The Guardian
• [New] If there is a strong El Nino later this year, there's a serious risk that the effect of climate change and El Nino will result in unprecedented weather extremes. Sierra Magazine
• [New] The weather-roiling El Nino that emerged across the Pacific last month has continued to build and will likely be one of the strongest in more than 75 years. Insurance Journal
• [New] El Nino is shifting typhoon tracks westward toward China's coast and heightening risks, while climate change makes storms wetter and more destructive. Insurance Journal
• [New] Extreme rainfall is expected to increase in general because a warmer atmosphere can hold more water. / USA Scientific American
• [New] Throughout the coming months, El Nino is forecast to bring droughts, heat waves and other extreme weather to every continent on Earth. Scientific American
• [New] One silver lining is that parched regions like the Colorado River Basin could get deluged with rain and snow, boosting water supplies. Earth Island Journal
• [New] Water covers more than 70% of the Earth's surface yet risks of scarcity and limited access form one of the defining crises of the coming century. Forbes
• [New] Canada faces similar climate-related challenges, with coastal regions like British Columbia vulnerable to rising sea levels and flooding, and interior provinces facing increasing wildfire threats. Climate X
• [New] The World Meteorological Organization documents that weather, climate, and water-related hazards accounted for 50% of all disasters and 45% of all reported deaths from disasters globally over the past five decades. Persistence Market Research
• [New] Population growth - especially the expansion of the world's middle class, which could number more than 5 billion in 2030 - is inducing an exponential increase in consumption and pollution so high that it has become a threat to public health worldwide. AXA.com
• [New] Industrial material efficiency improvements could reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by 1.5 gigatons annually by 2030. Market Data Forecast
• [New] Europe could spend more than €100 billion (£85 billion) a year remediating PFAS pollution while still capturing less than 2% of current emissions. Chemistry World
• [New] Global warming is now likely to reach 2 °C before 2050, a level associated with major disruption to water and food systems, migration and human health, increasing the risk of climate-driven inflation, financial shocks and the withdrawal of insurance from high-risk areas much sooner than expected. Bruegel | The Brussels-based economic think tank
• [New] Climate change could reduce crop yields by 10-25% by 2050 without adaptation measures, creating urgent demand for climate-resilient crop varieties and farming technologies. Persistence Market Research
• [New] Agricultural production must increase by 70% by 2050 to feed a global population exceeding 9.7 billion people, even as climate change threatens yields in major producing regions. Persistence Market Research
• [New] Global warming is likely to force assertive redirection of global energy markets in order to achieve a prudent standard of mitigation; the resulting process of energy transformation will fundamentally alter prevailing policies and institutional relationships. Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland
• [New] The onset of a potentially powerful El Nino weather pattern could boost global heat in the oceans and atmosphere even further in 2026 and into next year. GorakhaPatra
• [New] The reduction of pollution and climate impacts could save the world $4.2 trillion per year by 2030. United Nations
• [New] Many densely populated cities such as Shanghai and Mumbai or megacities such as the Pearl River Delta would be uniquely vulnerable to increased coastal flooding, highlighting one of the many risks that climate change poses to urban health. PubMed Central (PMC)

Last updated: 13 July 2026