A super El Niño threatens disaster. Trump is handling it recklessly | Terry Garcia

Terry Garcia, former deputy administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), highlights the critical role of data in forecasting climate events like El Niño, contrasting modern capabilities with historical disasters. He references the "year without a winter" in 1877, which coincided with a powerful El Niño and contributed to the "Great Famine" that killed an estimated 30 to 60 million people due to widespread drought and crop failures. Garcia emphasizes that contemporary ocean monitoring and forecasting systems provide crucial advance warnings, saving lives and billions of dollars annually by allowing anticipation of climate shocks. He expresses concern that political interference could compromise these vital data streams, making them vulnerable to "political whims." The article implies that such disruptions could jeopardize the ability to predict and mitigate the impacts of future extreme weather events, including a potential "super El Niño."