The 2023–2024 El Niño, declared by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on July 4, 2023, is regarded as the fifth-most powerful event on record, triggering widespread droughts, flooding, wildfires, and food insecurity across the globe. Its most significant meteorological effects occurred between November 2023 and April 2024, disrupting agriculture and fishing, which led to shortages and rising prices for staples like rice, palm oil, and soybeans. Climate scientists warn that this event, exacerbated by climate change, could push global average temperatures beyond the 1.5 °C increase since pre-industrial times, potentially breaking the record set in 2016. The phenomenon occurs when east–west trade winds die, warming the eastern Pacific Ocean and causing heavy rainfall in the Americas while generating droughts in Asia and Oceania. Notably, NOAA confirmed the event's onset on June 8, 2023, and on July 20, 2023, India—the world's top rice exporter—banned non-basmati rice exports to contain domestic price spikes.