JAMAICANS hoping for cooler weather at the end of the year may be in for disappointment as climate services manager at the Meteorological Service of Jamaica (Met Service) Jacqueline Spence Hemmings is warning that the strengthening El Niño phenomenon is expected to keep temperatures well above normal for the remainder of the year, and into early spring next year.

The climate pattern, which has already pushed the island into prolonged periods of extreme heat, is forecast to peak between October and December, and could continue influencing weather well into early 2027 before the system starts weakening later that year, but there is no indication as to how quickly it will wane.

Addressing a Jamaica Observer Press Club at the newspaper’s headquarters in St Andrew last Friday, Spence Hemmings urged Jamaicans to brace for the heat.