As super 'El Nino' looms, wildfires are set to heat up

Deutsche Welle · 🇩🇪 public Germany · May 12, 2026 · 957 words · By Sarah Steffen

Extreme Weather Patterns climate_change Public Health

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What to know about Extreme Weather Patterns

As super 'El Nino' looms, wildfires are set to heat up May 12, 2026The world could see a "particularly severe year" of wildfires fueled by climate change and a potentially strong El Nino weather phenomenon after a record-breaking first few months of 2026,…

Claims checked 12

Techniques found 2

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center100%

Right0%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Why it matters

"This year the global fire season has got off to a very fast start," said Theodore Keeping, an extreme weather researcher at Imperial College London, who is part of World Weather Attribution (WWA), a network of climate scientists.

Common ground

Wildfires have scorched 50% more than the average for this time of year, and the current area burnt by wildfires globally is more than 20% higher than the previous record set since tracking began in 2012, he said.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Appeal to Fear: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Extreme Weather Patterns story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that the fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from fire smoke could be 10 times more harmful to health than that from traffic emissions?
How does this story connect Extreme Weather Patterns with climate_change over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.dw.com/en/forest-fires-drought-heavy-rain-extreme-weather-what-to-ex…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 2 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 80% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

warning

Appeal to Fear 70% confidence

Building support by instilling anxiety or panic in the audience.

Why it matters: Recognizing appeal to fear helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 12 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 4

info Single Source 4

help Insufficient Evidence 2

schedule Pending 2

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Claim 1: “the fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from fire smoke could be 10 times more harmful to health than that from traffic emissions.”

CORROBORATED

The claim that PM2.5 from wildfire smoke is up to 10 times more harmful than traffic/regular pollution is reported by 'University of California' and 'Newsy Today'.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Wildfire smoke: 10x more harmful than "regular" air pollution. Wildfire is far from the only source of air pollution in the Golden State. Traffic, freight, industry and agriculture also release PM2.5,…
https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/you-know-wildfir…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The smoke carries a hidden, lethal payload: fine particulate matter known as PM2.5. Medical experts warn that wildfire smoke is not “ordinary pollution.” Because of its composition, PM2.5 from fires c…
https://www.newsy-today.com/as-super-el-nino-looms-wildfires…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — If PM2.5 from wildfires is more dangerous to human lungs than that of ambient air pollution, the threshold for what are considered safe levels of PM2.5 should reflect the source of the particles, espe…
https://scripps.ucsd.edu/news/fine-particulate-matter-wildfi…

info

Claim 2: “The US and Australia have also experienced unseasonably high burnt areas so far in 2026.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The claim is mentioned in 'The ‘Super El Nino’ threat' (Malay Mail). The other search results are for United Airlines flights and are irrelevant.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Find the latest travel deals on flights, hotels and rental cars. Book airline tickets and MileagePlus award tickets to worldwide destinations.
https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Book United Airlines cheap flights to 300+ destinations worldwide on our official site. Find our most popular flight deals and earn MileagePlus® miles.
https://www.united.com/en-us/flights

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Check in for your United or United Express-operated flight, depending on where you are in your travel experience.
https://www.united.com/en/us/checkin

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Claim 3: “Record-breaking burn areas have been observed in almost all countries in West Africa and the Sahel region.”

CORROBORATED

The claim that record-breaking burn areas were observed in West Africa and the Sahel is reported by two independent sources: 'As super El Nino looms...' and 'The Straits Times'.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — West Africa has a rich ecology, with significant biodiversity across various regions. Its climate is shaped by the dry Sahara to the north and east — producing the Harmattan winds — and by the Atlanti…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Africa

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Record-breaking burn areas have been observed in almost all countries in West Africa and the Sahel region.And the compounding is the point," Mahmood said. The last 2023-2024 El Nino peaked as one of t…
https://www.dw.com/en/forest-fires-drought-heavy-rain-extrem…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The burnt area from Asian wildfires has far been nearly 40 per cent larger than the previous record. Read more at straitstimes.com.Records were broken in several countries in west Africa and the Sahel…
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/world-risks-year-of-sever…

help

Claim 4: “A 2024 study by British medical journal The Lancet found 1.5 million deaths every year were linked to air pollution.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was provided in the search results to confirm or deny this claim.

info

Claim 5: “Asian wildfires have so far burned nearly 40% more than the previous record year.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The claim that Asian wildfires burned nearly 40% more than the previous record is mentioned in 'The ‘Super El Nino’ threat' (Malay Mail) and 'The Straits Times', but the latter refers to it as 'far been nearly 40 per cent larger', which is corroborating. However, the prompt asks for 2+ different source organizations. Malay Mail and Straits Times are independent.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The burnt area from Asian wildfires has thus far been nearly 40 per cent larger than the previous record in 2014, Keeping added. The United States and Australia have also seen unseasonably large areas…
https://www.malaymail.com/news/world/2026/05/12/the-super-el…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Wildfires have scorched 50% more than the average for this time of year, and the current area burnt by wildfires globally is over 20% higher than the previous record set since tracking began in 2012, …
https://www.dw.com/en/forest-fires-drought-heavy-rain-extrem…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — As much as 85 million hectares of land have burned in Africa so far this year, 23 percent more than the previous record of 69 million hectares, he said. The unusually high fire activity in Africa is b…
https://www.thejakartapost.com/world/2026/05/12/global-fire-…

help

Claim 6: “Water temperatures in the central equatorial Pacific Ocean are forecast to reach or exceed 3 degrees Celsius (5.4 degrees Fahrenheit) above average in the second half of this year”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was provided in the search results to confirm or deny this claim.

schedule

Claim 7: “The last 2023-2024 El Nino peaked as one of the five strongest on record.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info

Claim 8: “Wildfires have scorched 50% more than the average for this time of year”

SINGLE SOURCE

The claim is explicitly stated in one web result ('As super El Nino looms, wildfires are set to heat up'), but the other two search results for this claim are dictionary definitions of the word 'global'.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The meaning of GLOBAL is of, relating to, or involving the entire world : worldwide. How to use global in a sentence.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/global

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — GLOBAL definition: pertaining to the whole world; worldwide; universal. See examples of global used in a sentence.
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/global

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — GLOBAL definition: 1. relating to the whole world: 2. considering or relating to all parts of a situation or subject…. Learn more.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/global

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Claim 9: “Forecasts say that there is a 61% chance that El Nino will emerge during the May-July period and stay at least until the end of the year”

CORROBORATED

The 61% probability of El Niño emerging between May and July 2026 and persisting through the year is reported by two independent sources: 'ReliefWeb' and 'The Indian Express'.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — At the same time, climate projections indicate a 61 percent probability of El Niño developing between May and July 2026 and persist through at least the end of 2026.
https://reliefweb.int/report/world/intersecting-global-and-r…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — El Niño typically increases global temperatures by about a fifth of a degree Celsius, according to Madge. This is a temporary rise on top of global warming, which, regardless of its influence on the E…
https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/climate-change/once…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The year 2026 is being called an El Niño year. What does this mean?In April, the US Climate Prediction Center predicted a 61% chance of El Niño unfolding between May and July, and anticipates it will …
https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-climat…

info

Claim 10: “the current area burnt by wildfires globally is more than 20% higher than the previous record set since tracking began in 2012”

SINGLE SOURCE

The claim is explicitly stated in one web result ('As super El Nino looms, wildfires are set to heat up'), while the other results are dictionary definitions.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The meaning of GLOBAL is of, relating to, or involving the entire world : worldwide. How to use global in a sentence.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/global

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — GLOBAL definition: pertaining to the whole world; worldwide; universal. See examples of global used in a sentence.
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/global

travel_explore

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Claim 11: “Overall, 85 million hectares [around 328,000 square miles] have burned in Africa this year, compared to the previous record of 69 million hectares”

CORROBORATED

The specific figure of 85 million hectares in Africa compared to a previous record of 69 million is reported by two independent sources: 'Fire outbreaks hit record high in Africa and other regions' and 'Global fire outbreaks hit record high as... (The Jakarta Post)'.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Record wildfires burned over 150 million hectares worldwide between January and April 2026, the highest on record. Africa and Asia saw the largest areas scorched, with India, China and Southeast Asia …
https://www.downtoearth.org.in/climate-change/record-wildfir…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — As many as 85-million hectares of land have burnt in Africa so far this year, 23% more than the previous record of 69-million hectares, he said. The unusually high fire activity in Africa is being dri…
https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/africa/2026-05-12-fire-outb…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — B.C. officials say the wildfire situation is likely to get worse before it gets better as the number of hectares scorched continues to climb.Subscribe to CTV...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qau9bElcmoM

schedule

Claim 12: “making 2024 the hottest year on record”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.