The climatic phenomenon is expected to return this year, but a lot has changed since what might have been the worst environmental disaster in human history.
May 12, 2026 at 5:00 a.m. EDTToday at 5:00 a.m. EDT
The most intense El Niño event on record, which occurred from 1877 to 1878, contributed to famine that caused global population losses of 3 to 4 percent. (Ben Noll/the Washington Post; ECMWF/NOAA)
As chances rise for one of the strongest El Niño events on record later this year, the potential for dangerous conditions has prompted comparisons to 1877, when such an event drove catastrophe around the globe.
