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The current El Nino weather phenomenon is expected to break records for its overall strength, a top expert said Tuesday, as regions face the risk of droughts, floods and other extremes linked to the event.
El Nino warms surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, bringing worldwide changes in winds, pressure and rainfall patterns.
It typically takes place every two to seven years and lasts around nine to 12 months, and it can lead to droughts in some parts of the world and flooding in others.
This year’s El Nino is unlike anything seen in more than three decades of tracking the phenomenon, with forecast models pointing to an “extreme” event, said Tim Stockdale, an El Nino expert at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), an intergovernmental organisation.
