El Nino: A rising threat in 2026
Looking at the perils regionally, there’s been an uptick in the number of wildfires in the Southeastern US this spring. As of mid-May 2026, US wildfires had burned nearly 1.9 million acres nationwide, with more than 25,500 fires recorded — significantly above the 10-year average of 17,713 fires and approximately 1,052,600 acres for the same period. Going state by state, Florida has been the hardest hit. Fires burned through nearly 120,000 acres so far this year, after the intensity and extent of drought ratcheted up starting in January 2026, according to NASA. But what’s fuelling this? Well, according to Wood, it’s a lack of precipitation mixed with the El Nino threat.
