A team of researchers shows that a rare and extreme annular warming pattern in the tropical Pacific, combined with the accumulation of warm water in the upper western Pacific in spring 2026, will collectively drive a super El Niño event toward the end of this year.

Researchers at The University of Osaka have developed a catalyst that uses vibrational energy to convert carbon dioxide (CO₂) into carbon monoxide (CO), an important industrial feedstock. The work demonstrates a new piezocatalytic route for CO₂ conversion at low temperature and ambient pressure, offering a potential path toward future low-energy carbon recycling technologies.