El Niño Formed

California Coastline, USA


The U.S. government forecaster warned on Thursday that the feared El Nino phenomenon, which can affect global weather, is almost certain to occur over the next two months, potentially adding strain to global food supplies



This is the strongest prediction yet by the CPC.

El Nino conditions will likely arrive in August or September and lead to weak-to-moderate weather conditions over the Northern Hemisphere's autumn and winter, the U.S. Climate Prediction Center (CPC) said in its monthly report.

Also, Japan's official weather bureau said on Friday its climate monitoring data and models indicate the El Nino phenomenon has emerged and is likely to last until the northern winter, potentially adding strain to global food supplies.

Note: El Niño is Spanish for "the little boy" and refers to the Christ child, because periodic warming in the Pacific near South America is usually noticed around Christmas. The last severe El Nino was in 1998, when the phenomenon caused more than 2,000 deaths and inflicted billions of dollars in damage to crops, infrastructure and mines in Australia and other parts of Asia.