8:38 am today
Over the coming months, countires in the Western Pacific are likely to experience drier-than-usual conditions.
El Niño has been declared in the Pacific - and a forecaster says there's reason for concern.
An El Niño event occurs when the ocean becomes warmer than usual, affecting rainfall and wind patterns.
The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), the region's primary scientific organisation, says that sea surface temperature readings and Southern Oscillation Index values have met the thresholds for El Niño.
