‘Unpredictable and extreme’: Asia braces for El Niño.
Weather models project a potentially strong El Niño this year, which could spell disaster for heatwave-hit India, drench China and hurt agriculture across south-east Asia.
The UN has warned that the world must prepare for the imminent return of El Niño and the raised global temperatures and weather extremes it brings.
The powerful natural weather pattern has an 80% chance of forming before September and a 90% chance before November, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Tuesday.
Experts say what is particularly concerning is that El Niño is unfolding against the backdrop of human-driven climate change, meaning there is the potential for its impacts to be supercharged.
Asia is predicted to be one of the regions most exposed, with intensifying heat and drought predicted to put major stresses on agriculture, power grids and water supplies.
