IRI ENSO Forecast
IRI Technical ENSO Update
Published: March 19, 2025
Note: The SST anomalies cited below refer to the OISSTv2 SST data set, and not ERSSTv5. OISSTv2 is often used for real-time analysis and model initialization, while ERSSTv5 is used for retrospective official ENSO diagnosis because it is more homogeneous over time, allowing for more accurate comparisons among ENSO events that are years apart. These two products may differ, particularly during ENSO events. The difference between the two datasets may be as much as 0.5 °C. Additionally in some years, the ERSSTv5 may tend to be cooler than OISSTv2 in the context of warming trends, because ERSSTv5 is expressed relative to a base period that is updated every 5 years, while the base period of OISSTv2 is updated every 10 years. In February 2021, both datasets were updated to reflect the 1991-2020 climatology period.
Recent and Current Conditions
The SST anomaly in the NINO3.4 region during the Dec-Feb 2025 season was -0.56 °C, and for February 2025, it was -0.35 °C. The most recent weekly average (week centered on March 12, 2025) of the NINO3.4 index was 0.3 °C. The latest seasonal, monthly, and weekly values suggest that the tropical Pacific has been experiencing ENSO-neutral conditions. The IRI’s definition of El Niño, similar to NOAA/Climate Prediction Center’s, requires that the monthly SST anomaly in the NINO3.4 region (5°S-5°N; 170°W-120°W) exceed +0.5 °C. Similarly, for La Niña, the anomaly must be -0.5 °C or colder.
As of mid-March 2025, some atmospheric indicators are showing La Niña conditions, while oceanic variables are closer to ENSO-neutral. For instance, the traditional Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) for February 2025 was +3.0, placing it within the ENSO-neutral range, while the equatorial SOI for the same month was +1.0, falling within the La Niña range. The trade winds (at 850 hPa) were stronger than normal in the central-western Pacific but weaker than normal in the eastern Pacific during February 2025. The upper-level winds (at 200 hPa) are close to average over the equatorial Pacific. Atmospheric convection over the central Pacific is strongly below normal, while above-normal cloudiness is observed over Indonesia, consistent with typical La Niña conditions. Below-average ocean temperatures persist at depth in the eastern and central Pacific, while above-average temperatures dominate at depth in the western Pacific (between 140° and 180°). Warmer temperatures are also present in the eastern Pacific from the surface to 25 meters below the surface and are spreading westward. Together, these observed conditions in the coupled ocean-atmosphere system indicate ENSO-neutral conditions in the equatorial Pacific.
Expected Conditions:
Note – Only models that produce a new ENSO prediction every month are considered in this statement.
What is the outlook for the ENSO status going forward?
The El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) Diagnostic Discussion released on 13 March 2025 by the Climate Prediction Center/NCEP/NWS maintained La Niña Advisory, but forecasted development of the ENSO-neutral conditions in the next month that could persist through the Northern Hemisphere summer (62% chance in June-August 2025).
The latest set of ENSO prediction models from mid-March 2025 is now available in the
IRI ENSO prediction plume. These are used to assess the probabilities of the three ENSO categories by using the average value of the NINO3.4 SST anomaly predictions from all models in the plume, equally weighted. A standard Gaussian error is imposed over that averaged forecast, with its width determined by an estimate of overall expected model skill for the season of the year and the lead time. Higher skill results in a relatively narrower error distribution, while low skill results in an error distribution with width approaching that of the historical observed distribution.
According to the ENSO forecast issued by the IRI in March 2025, there is a high probability (91%) for ENSO-neutral conditions during March-May 2025, while the chances for La Niña conditions are only 9%. For the periods Apr-Jun to Sep-Nov, ENSO-neutral conditions are favored at 86%, 76%, 63%, 57%, 50%, and 45% respectively. The probability of La Niña gradually increases from 13% to 38% during the same period. For Oct-Dec 2025 and Nov-Jan 2025/26, La Niña conditions are favored with a 41% chance, while the probability of ENSO-neutral continuation is 40% and 39% respectively. The probability of El Niño remains low throughout the forecast period, though it increases gradually from 1% in April-June to 20% in Nov-Jan 2025/26. A plot of the probabilities summarizes the forecast evolution. The climatological probabilities for La Niña, ENSO-neutral, and El Niño conditions vary seasonally, and are shown by the lines on the plot, and are given in a table at the bottom of this page for each 3-month season.
Caution is advised in interpreting the forecast distribution from the Gaussian standard error as the actual probabilities, due to differing biases and performance of the different models. In particular, this approach considers only the mean of the predictions, and not the total range across the models, nor the ensemble range within individual models. At longer leads, the skill of the models degrades, and uncertainty in skill must be convolved with the uncertainties from initial conditions and differing model physics, which leads to more climatological probabilities in the long-lead ENSO Outlook than might be suggested by the suite of models. Furthermore, the expected skill of one model versus another has not been established using uniform validation procedures, which may cause a difference in the true probability distribution.
In summary, the forecast indicates a high probability of ENSO-neutral conditions for Mar-May 2025, and these conditions are expected to persist until Sep-Nov 2025. Observations confirm that moderate surface warming in the eastern Pacific is spreading westward due to a strong surge of westerly wind anomalies over the past four weeks in the eastern Pacific. However, this warming is quite shallow, and beneath the surface, below 50 meters, weak cold temperatures exist. Therefore, this recent warming may be tapered off by the trade winds, which are expected to strengthen according to recent forecasts. It is worth noting that the Relative Oceanic Niño Index (RONI: https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/data/indices/RONI.ascii.txt), which measures sea surface temperature anomalies in the Niño 3.4 region (5°N–5°S, 120°W–170°W) relative to the rest of the equatorial band, has remained below the -0.5 La Niña threshold for the past seven overlapping seasons (-0.51 for Jun-Aug, -0.63 for Jul-Sep, -0.75 for Aug-Oct, -0.80 for Sep-Nov 2024, -0.91 for Oct-Dec, -1.09 for Nov-Jan, and -1.18 for Dec-Feb). Similarly, the Multivariate ENSO-Index (MEI: https://psl.noaa.gov/enso/mei/), which accounts for both oceanic and atmospheric conditions, registered -0.8°C during Jan-Feb 2025. Therefore, while the traditional ENSO index (Niño 3.4) is now showing values that are outside the range of La Niña threshold in the month of February 2025, other indices that incorporate global warming signals and atmospheric patterns have been indicative of La Niña-like conditions since mid 2024 and still showing La Niña-like conditions.
A caution regarding the model-based ENSO plume predictions (released mid-month) is that factors such as known specific model biases and recent changes in the tropical Pacific the models may have missed, are not considered. This approach is purely objective. Those issues are taken into account in CPC’s official outlooks, which are issued early in the month, and which will include some human judgment in combination with the model guidance.
Season |
La Niña |
Neutral |
El Niño |
MAM |
9 |
91 |
0 |
AMJ |
13 |
86 |
1 |
MJJ |
17 |
76 |
7 |
JJA |
23 |
63 |
14 |
JAS |
28 |
57 |
15 |
ASO |
34 |
50 |
16 |
SON |
38 |
45 |
17 |
OND |
41 |
40 |
19 |
NDJ |
41 |
39 |
20 |