El Niño 2026: Sea Surface Temperature Anomaly (2025 vs. 2026) – Updated Daily

  • Released Tuesday, October 27, 2026
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Side-by-side globes comparing sea surface temperature anomalies in the tropical Pacific during 2025 and 2026. Reds indicate warmer-than-average ocean temperatures, while blues indicate cooler-than-average temperatures. A color bar shows the temperature anomaly scale in degrees Celsius. The visualization uses a 7-day running average and is updated daily with the latest available data.

This visualization compares sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTA) in the tropical Pacific during 2025 and 2026, highlighting changes in ocean temperature patterns associated with El Niño. Sea surface temperature anomalies indicate how much warmer or cooler the ocean surface is compared to average conditions, with reds representing warmer-than-average temperatures and blues indicating cooler-than-average temperatures.

The visualization uses data from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Multi-scale Ultra-high Resolution (MUR) Sea Surface Temperature Analysis. A 7-day running average is applied to smooth short-term variations and make broader temperature patterns easier to see. The visualization is updated daily to incorporate the latest available data for 2026.

Side-by-side globes comparing sea surface temperature anomalies in the tropical Pacific during 2025 and 2026. Reds indicate warmer-than-average ocean temperatures, while blues indicate cooler-than-average temperatures. The visualization uses a 7-day running average and is updated daily with the latest available data.

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Datasets used

  • MUR SST (Multi-scale Ultra-high Resolution (MUR) Sea Surface Temperature (SST) Analysis)

    ID: 845
    Type: Analysis Collected by: JPL PO DAAC
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Note: While we identify the data sets used on this page, we do not store any further details, nor the data sets themselves on our site.

This page was originally published on Tuesday, October 27, 2026.
This page was last updated on Wednesday, October 28, 2026 at 11:20 AM EDT.