Indonesia is experiencing its biggest wildfires in a decade. Peru and Ecuador are experiencing intense, unusual rainfall and mudslides, while India’s monsoon rain is down 50%.
One common influence is El Niño, a natural pattern of temperature swings in the tropical Pacific. This year’s El Niño is already the strongest on record, and is still strengthening.
We asked Chloe Brimicombe, a climate scientist at the University of Oxford, what that might mean for the UK. These things are tough to forecast, she notes, as the global climate system has so many moving parts. But Brimicombe looks at the chain of connections between the tropical Pacific and the atmosphere over the North Atlantic, and explains why a strong El Niño could shift the odds towards a colder winter in the UK.
Meanwhile, Joseph Downing, an expert in French politics at Aston University, writes about the student protests over teacher shortages, poor facilities and long school days. These are grievances that go back decades, he says.
And Simon Clarke of the University of Reading says you should get your flu jab earlier than usual this year – new data points to an early start to the 2026 flu season.
