A ‘super’ El Niño could transform the Amazon. Is the world’s biggest rainforest doomed? - Nature

World·PhotosBrazilian authorities are investigating whether a recent surge in wildfires in the Amazon rainforest have been set on purpose for political motives ahead of the second round of presidential elections later this months. Fires a point of contention during election campaign that has rarely touched on climate changeThe Associated Press · Posted: Oct 16, 2026 11:45 AM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 5 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results. A deforested area of the Amazon rainforest burns in Autazes, Brazil, on Oct. 12. Brazilian authorities are investigating whether a recent surge in wildfires have been set on purpose for political motives ahead of the second round of presidential elections later this months. (Bruno Kelly/Reuters)Brazilian authorities are investigating whether a recent surge in wildfires in the Amazon rainforest have been set on purpose for political motives ahead of the second round of presidential elections later this months.

Israeli settlers have attacked European diplomats, including a French mayor, near the Palestinian village of Taybeh in the occupied West Bank. The delegation was visiting Palestinian olive harvesters on Saturday when the Israeli attackers confronted the group. The attack comes a day after settlers assaulted a US journalist north of Ramallah. In Saturday’s incident, the settlers targeted Belgium’s consul general, French and Polish diplomats and Catholic representatives, Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said. “A French mayor was assaulted and a Belgian vehicle damaged,” Prevot said, linking the attack to what he called Israel’s “illegal settlement policy” and pledging to push for further European Union sanctions. French mayor Bernard Baudoux, who was assaulted, told the AFP news agency that the violence suggests that “there is a tolerance on the part of the Israeli government” towards settler violence. Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh, reporting from Ramallah, said the settlers surrounded the diplomats’ vehicles, pelted them with stones and smashed their windows.

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Masked Israeli settlers attacked a group of European diplomats on Saturday during a visit to the occupied West Bank on Saturday, Belgium’s foreign minister Maxime Prevot said. The attackers targeted Belgium’s consul general, French and Polish diplomats and Catholic representatives in the village of Taybeh, 5 kilometres northeast of Jerusalem, according to Prevot.

Drought conditions could develop or worsen for parts of the northwestern U. S. in the coming months, as meteorologists expect El Niño to help shape the winter season. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued its winter outlook this week. In it, the agency outlined how the climate pattern could influence temperature and rainfall during winter and said drought conditions are favored to develop or worsen across parts of the northern Rockies. What Is El Niño? El Niño is a naturally recurring climate pattern associated with warmer waters in the Pacific that can influence temperatures and rainfall worldwide. In the U. S., typical El Niño effects can include stormier weather across southern regions, drier conditions in some northern areas and changes in hurricane activity. The Climate Prediction Center said earlier this month that El Niño had continued to strengthen, with chances remaining high for a “strong-to-very strong” event through January to March 2027.