Rebecca Herscher

A long, strong El Nino in 2023 and 2024 led both of those years to shatter global temperature records.

Now, federal forecasters say it's likely El Nino will return between June and August.

That would also affect regional weather patterns in the U.S.

The South generally sees more rain and lower temperatures in years when El Nino is active, and El Nino also makes it more difficult for hurricanes to form in the Atlantic.

Rebecca Herscher, NPR News.

Burning coal produces a lot of pollution, including sulfur dioxide, which causes acid rain and respiratory illness.

There are strict limits set by the federal government on how much sulfur dioxide power plants can emit—

But when President Trump took office, he signed an executive order exempting many coal-fired power plants from those rules, which allowed the plants to save money by turning off expensive technology that traps dangerous gases.

The effect was immediate.

Last year, sulfur dioxide emissions increased 18 percent, an analysis by the Natural Resources Defense Council found.

Rebecca Herscher, NPR News.

Burning coal produces a lot of pollution.

including sulfur dioxide, which causes acid rain and respiratory illness.

There are strict limits set by the federal government on how much sulfur dioxide power plants can emit.

But when President Trump took office, he signed an executive order exempting many coal-fired power plants from those rules, which allowed the plants to save money by turning off expensive technology that traps dangerous gases.

The effect was immediate.

Last year, sulfur dioxide emissions increased 18 percent, an analysis by the Natural Resources Defense Council found.

Rebecca Herscher, NPR News.

Hurricane Melissa slammed into Jamaica as a massive Category 5 hurricane last year and killed at least 95 people.

It was one of the most powerful hurricanes ever recorded in the Atlantic.