Case study
Climate & Crisis Resilience Resources
El Niño 2026/2027
According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), a strong El Niño is expected to strengthen during the second half of 2026, with NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center forecasting a high likelihood that it will persist through early spring 2027. This event brings severe climate risks—including extreme droughts, torrential rainfall, and heightened cyclone activity—that threaten food security, infrastructure, and public health. Google is committed to organizing authoritative crisis information to keep communities safe. We are providing governments with direct access to our advanced Climate AI tools to strengthen early warning systems, working toward our North Star: a world where no one is surprised by a natural disaster.
Below, you will find key resources from Google’s Climate and Crisis Resilience efforts, curated specifically for government authorities leading preparedness and response. If your organization has questions, please reach out to us at crisis-resilience-partnerships@google.com.
Potential El Niño hazards and associated resources
Weather & Precipitation
Cyclones
Floods
Extreme Heat & Wildfires
Google AI Weather tools
El Niño disrupts global precipitation patterns, triggering torrential rains and sudden flash flooding in regions like coastal South America and East Africa.
Government agencies and disaster management authorities can leverage WeatherNext models and the visualization platform Weather Lab to strengthen government early warning systems by anticipating global precipitation anomalies, torrential rainfall, and sudden flash flooding with advanced meteorological forecasting. Weather Lab also displays cyclone prediction visualization. Google's most accurate model was released in September 2026 and provides forecasters with better reach, speed, and detail than ever before.
Government agencies and disaster management authorities can leverage WeatherNext models and the visualization platform Weather Lab to strengthen government early warning systems by anticipating global precipitation anomalies, torrential rainfall, and sudden flash flooding with advanced meteorological forecasting. Weather Lab also displays cyclone prediction visualization. Google's most accurate model was released in September 2026 and provides forecasters with better reach, speed, and detail than ever before.
AI-powered tropical cyclone forecasting
Anticipate storm tracks and typhoon intensities with longer lead times. Disaster management authorities can integrate SOTA AI-driven tracking to strengthen coastal defense preparation and early evacuation planning.
Access real-time and historical datasets to forecast cyclone tracks and intensity up to 15 days ahead. Teams can access visualizations and download data via Weather Lab to inform early emergency staging and warning protocols.
Access real-time and historical datasets to forecast cyclone tracks and intensity up to 15 days ahead. Teams can access visualizations and download data via Weather Lab to inform early emergency staging and warning protocols.
Flood forecasting tools
El Niño conditions bring heightened risks of severe flooding, torrential rainfall, landslides, and infrastructure damage across vulnerable regions. Government agencies can leverage Google's flood forecasting tools to evaluate risk zones, enhance early warning systems, and protect critical infrastructure.
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Real-Time Data Access
- Flood Hub: Monitor real-time riverine flood forecasts up to 7 days in advance and flash flood risks up to 24 hours in advance. Emergency managers can use these predictions to issue early public warnings and coordinate targeted evacuation. Read our scientific publications here and access the help center here.
- Email notifications: Subscribe key personnel to automated email updates for immediate notifications on developing flood risks across jurisdictions of interest.
- API Access: Request programmatic access to feed live flood predictions directly into local emergency management systems and GIS platforms (primarily non-commercial; Google account required; licensed under CC BY 4.0).
- Open Sourced Model Code: To help further protect vulnerable communities affected by floods, we have open-sourced our hydrology model code on GitHub for others to use and build upon. To get started with implementation, check out this introductory tutorial on navigating the model code. The model code is available under an Apache 2.0 license.
- Flood Hub: Monitor real-time riverine flood forecasts up to 7 days in advance and flash flood risks up to 24 hours in advance. Emergency managers can use these predictions to issue early public warnings and coordinate targeted evacuation. Read our scientific publications here and access the help center here.
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Historical Data Access
- Google Runoff Reanalysis & Reforecast (GRRR) Dataset: Analyze 40+ years of river discharge data (1980–2023) to assess hydrological baselines, update flood hazard maps, and inform long-term infrastructure resiliency planning.
- Inundation History Dataset: Leverage high-resolution satellite data on past inundation frequencies (128m pixels, 1999–2020) to identify recurrent flooding zones and refine municipal zoning strategies (licensed under CC-BY-4.0).
Extreme heat
Sustained above-normal land surface temperatures create extreme heat stress, water shortages, and public health risks. Governments, Municipalities and health agencies can apply Google resources to deliver targeted public safety alerts and plan urban cooling interventions.
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WeatherLab - Temperature Layer
See 2m Temperature powered by our WeatherNext model via the WeatherLab.
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Heat Resilience Earth Engine App
Leverage satellite thermal mapping to identify high-risk urban heat hotspots and deploy targeted mitigation actions, such as tree planting and designated cooling centers.
Wildfire boundaries
Severe droughts and elevated temperatures significantly heighten wildfire risks across global regions, requiring robust boundary tracking and early detection.
Additional resources for Public Safety
Waze
Alerting
External resources
In addition to Google resources, we’ve curated a set of resources from external providers below: