Sri Lanka urges farmers to conserve water amid possible El Nino impact. (Photo: IANS)Sri Lanka is preparing for another spell of extreme weather, with a senior meteorological official saying the current El Nino is expected to have its strongest impact on the island in the first quarter of next year.Before then, the country could face a wetter-than-usual end to the year. Above-normal rainfall is expected in October and November, with wet conditions likely to continue through December and into early January, according to Ajith Wijemanne, director general of Sri Lanka’s Department of Meteorology.Parts of the country are currently experiencing dry spells, but Wijemanne said El Nino should not be understood as bringing only dry conditions.“El Nino does not simply mean dry spells and a lack of rain,” he said, adding that Sri Lanka could experience both dry spells and periods of intense rainfall.El Nino is a climate pattern marked by unusual warming of waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The warming disrupts trade winds and can alter weather patterns around the world, triggering extremes ranging from severe drought to heavy rainfall.Previous El Nino episodes in Sri Lanka have typically brought both wet and dry phases, rather than sustained drought or uninterrupted rain, Wijemanne said.Wijemanne said an analysis covering 70 years puts the likelihood of this El Nino being the most severe in seven decades at more than 75%.Less than a year ago, Cyclone Ditwah caused one of Sri Lanka’s worst recent disasters. The disaster affected more than two million people, killing over 600 and displacing more than 230,000 as torrential rain triggered widespread flooding.With wetter conditions expected towards the end of the year, the government has begun contingency planning for landslides and heavy flooding.