CLIVAR (through the Pacific Region Panel and the ENSO Research Foci) and the Centro Internacional para la Investigación del Fenómeno de El Niño (CIIFEN), successfully organised the IV International Conference on El Niño Southern Oscillation: ENSO in a warmer Climate (ENSO2018). The purpose of the conference was to bring together the most outstanding scientists of the area at a national and international level, to analyze and discuss the dynamics of El Niño-La Niña, as well as its implications to society.

ENSO2018 took place in the STEM building of Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL), from October 16 to 18, and was devoted to analyze the current state of ENSO in terms of its diversity (types of El Niño), development of extreme events, predictability, impacts and teleconnections in a warmer climate. 136 people from 20 countries participated in the conference. The conference was held in six plenary sessions including 42 oral presentations, with parallel poster sessions exhibiting 75 posters, as well as 3 international exhibitions on climate services. A poster competition in two groups (Early Career Scientists and Students) was organized and the ‘Best Overall Posters’ and two ‘Outstanding Posters’ were selected from each category.

The ENSO2018 Conference took place in the context of slightly warm conditions in the Tropical Pacific. Several international organizations, including the Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the United States and the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) of Australia, mainly observing the high heat content in the central Pacific and the predictions of statistical and dynamic models, have issued the "El Niño Watch" alert, which means that there are favourable conditions for the development of an El Niño event in the following 6 months.

Figures:

• 136 participants
• 75 posters
• 73 Male, 59 Female
• 54 Early Career Scientists
• 42 Orals
• 20 countries
• 6 Poster Award (2 'Best Overall Posters' and 4 'Outstanding Posters' )
• 3 international exhibitions on climate services