Experts have warned that an El Niño is now “firmly established” and will intensify into a very strong event in the coming months.
That’s according to an update from the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), which said there will be big impacts globally on rainfall and temperature patterns and associated risks of floods, drought and extreme heat.
The phenomenon develops every few years, and involves the eastern and central equatorial Pacific Ocean becoming hotter than normal, according to Professor Bill McGuire, a professor specialising in climate hazards.
An El Niño is declared when sea temperatures in the tropical eastern Pacific rise 0.5°C above the long-term average.
Yet forecasts predict sea surface temperatures will rise to more than 3°C above average in the coming months, peaking in December. Some forecasts ...
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