New Delhi, April 24 -- An El Niño event is expected to develop from mid-2026 and could be a strong one, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said on Friday, as a separate study showed snow reserves across the Hindu Kush Himalaya have fallen to a record low for the fourth consecutive year - twin signals pointing to a difficult season ahead for India, which is already bracing for a below-normal monsoon.

The latest monthly Global Seasonal Climate Update from WMO signals a clear shift in the equatorial Pacific, with sea-surface temperatures rising rapidly and pointing to a likely return of El Niño as early as May-July 2026. Forecasts also indicate a "nearly global dominance of above-normal land surface temperatures" during t...