Every few years, weather nerds and agriculture analysts will talk about an upcoming El Niño, and then they mostly pass by with relatively few headlines. But sometimes El Niños end up being massively destabilizing -- leading to devastating droughts, flooding, and other catastrophes. And this year's emerging El Niño could end up being one of the big ones, with forecasters predicting record-breaking intensity. But what exactly is an El Niño, and what does it mean that this year's could be so big? On this episode, we speak with Justin Mankin, professor of geography at Dartmouth and director of the Climate Modeling and Impacts Group. We discuss the forecasting of El Niños, and why they can lead to large and long-lasting economic damage. Read more: Super El Niño Will Give Us a Glimpse of Life in 2035 [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-09/super-el-nino-will-give-us-a-glimpse-of-life-in-2035?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=odd_lots&utm_content=article] Heat Wave and World Cup Hand UK Economy a Surprise Boost [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-13/uk-economy-weathers-early-months-of-iran-war-with-0-4-growth?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=odd_lots&utm_content=article] Only http://Bloomberg.com [http://Bloomberg.com] subscribers can get the Odd Lots newsletter in their inbox each week, plus unlimited access to the site and app. Subscribe at  bloomberg.com/subscriptions/oddlots [https://www.bloomberg.com/subscriptions/oddlots?in_source=oddlotspodcast] Subscribe to the Odd Lots Newsletter [http://bloomberg.com/subscriptions/oddlots] Join the conversation: discord.gg/oddlots [https://discord.gg/oddlots] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.