El Nino has arrived, the US weather agency said on Thursday, and scientists expect the phenomenon, which is characterized by drought, floods and rising temperatures, to intensify by the end of the year, which could be historic.
El Nino is a natural weather event that warms the surface of the central and eastern Pacific Ocean, causing worldwide changes in wind and rain patterns and unusual weather patterns.
Scientists fear it will increase the temperature of an already warming planet from burning fossil fuels, while increasing extreme weather.
“El Nino is here, and it could be one for the history books,” said meteorologist Haley Thiem in an explanatory video from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
In its latest advisory, scientists at NOAA said there is a 63 percent chance “of a very strong El Nino during November-January that would rank among the largest El Nino events in the historical record going back to 1950”.
Every El Nino is different, but major events often follow familiar patterns. These include droughts in parts of the Amazon, Indonesia and Australia, disrupted monsoons in India, and changes in rainfall in the tropics.
