A potentially powerful El Nino developing in the Pacific Ocean could reshape weather patterns around the world in the coming weeks. Forecasters that warn this could be among the strongest El Nino events on record.
There’s "real potential for the strongest El Nino event in 140 years," said Paul Roundy, a professor of atmospheric and environmental sciences at the State University of New York at Albany.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) expects El Nino conditions to emerge soon and continue at least into winter. Depending on its strength and duration, the climate phenomenon could trigger drought, flooding, heat waves and disruptions to food and water supplies in multiple regions.
"The world must treat it as the urgent climate warning it is," United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said. "El Nino conditions will pour fuel on the fire of a warming world."
What is El Nino?
