2026 Super El Niño
Well above its own usual level, and has been for at least a day.
An offshoot of Himalayan Glacial Flood Crisis: a trend of its own that grew out of that one.
What it is
A record-strength El Niño — a warming of the Pacific Ocean that shifts weather patterns worldwide — is building toward a peak in December 2026. Scientists say it is the strongest in at least 1,000 years. The U.S. West Coast, Southwest, and Southern states are already seeing heavy storms, flooding, and coastal erosion, with more expected through the winter.
This week vs usual
+78%
34 vs about 19 usual
Signals this week
119
from every source, newer ones too
Sources
18
over the last seven weeks
Momentum
70/100
tracked since Nov 10, 2026
Where it is being talked about
Share of its signals over the last four weeks. Mostly News.
The rest of this trend is on Starter
- An AI brief: why now, who is driving it, what to watch
- The 90-day chart against its usual level
- An email when its label changes
More science trends
See allClimate Tipping Point Urgency
Scientists, health researchers, and policy experts are raising alarms that Earth is approaching or passing climate tipping points — thresholds beyond which some changes become permanent. Research discussed this week points to an accelerating rate of heat buildup, rapid glacier loss, and warming-linked extremes like floods, wildfires, and droughts. The conversation spans COP31 preparations, a major Lancet health report, and a UN Emissions Gap Report, all released in late 2026.
Cold Front Weather Cycling
Across multiple US regions, a repeating cycle of cold fronts, brief warm-up periods, and short dry spells is dominating local weather forecasts in early November 2026. Temperatures are swinging noticeably between mild afternoons and near-freezing overnight lows, with periodic rain, gusty winds, and fog punctuating otherwise calm stretches. The pattern is drawing consistent attention from forecasters who are tracking each successive front as a distinct event rather than isolated weather.
Daily City Temperature Markets
Prediction markets are letting people bet on the exact daily high temperature in specific cities, resolved to the degree. Markets cover cities including Toronto, Beijing, and Tokyo, with questions tied to precise dates in August. Each market resolves using official daily temperature records from weather observation data.
Pure Math Conjecture Proofs
Mathematicians are making serious progress on problems that have been unsolved for decades. Researchers are proving or disproving long-standing conjectures in areas like geometry, graph theory, and number theory. Examples include new work on the Křížz conjecture, the Komlós conjecture, the Erdős–Straus conjecture, and the quantum Hedetniemi conjecture.
Neural Circuit Computation Mapping
Researchers are working to decode how neural circuits in the brain produce perception, memory, decision-making, and behavior by combining large-scale recordings of neural activity with computational modeling. The field spans multiple brain regions and functions, from visual object recognition and attention to habit learning, motor control, and sensory adaptation. A key ambition is to build precise, quantitative maps that link what individual neurons and populations do to what the whole brain computes.
Public Science Communication
A surge of activity is forming around efforts to bring scientific research out of academic silos and into public life—through live events like science slams, talk formats, streaming, and cross-disciplinary conversations. This is happening against a backdrop of political pressure on research institutions, with signals pointing to funding cuts, disruption to scientific communities, and debates over who controls the science agenda. The conversation spans multiple languages and countries, suggesting this is a genuinely international moment for science communication.