Next El Niño could be tipping point for a hotter climate

“These shifts matter because they can turn a short-lived climate shock into a longer-lasting risk,” he wrote. If soil moisture stays below normal for several years, crops are exposed to repeated heat and water stress across multiple growing seasons with “direct consequences for food production and water security.” Adapting to a changing baseline The potential for more destructive physical impacts raises deeper concerns about how societies that developed under relatively stable climate …