“El Niño conditions could arrive as early as May,” says the WMO.
Extreme weather patterns may bring power instability, water shortages, and dramatic temperature and humidity swings. For commercial growers, preparation is no longer optional — it’s strategic.
Here’s how we can prepare to stay ahead:
1. Prepare for Power & Connectivity Risks
El Niño can increase the risk of grid failures and indirect communication disruptions.
✅ Install UPS systems, backup generators, or solar solutions (where possible) to prevent environmental control failures.
✅ Build redundancy: dual-network setups, local data storage, and on-site alarm systems to ensure uninterrupted monitoring.
Data should never go offline — even if the grid does.
Adapt Irrigation to Climate Instability
El Niño may intensify droughts or heavy rainfall. Temperature and humidity shifts change plant transpiration rates — meaning fixed irrigation schedules no longer work. Don’t irrigate by schedule — irrigate by data.
✅ Use ambient sensors to monitor temperature, humidity, and VPD.
✅ Use substrate sensors to track root-zone temperature, VWC, and EC trends.
✅ Integrate data with automated crop steering to optimize irrigation, prevent overwatering, avoid salt stack, and maintain ideal dry-back.
Stay ahead. Grow smarter. Build resilience from the root zone up.
Feel free to contact us for substrate sensor and ambient sensor.
