Britain’s Met Office national weather forecaster on Friday said the developing El Niño weather pattern ​was likely to be the strongest ‌in living memory.

El Niño is a periodic warming of sea surface temperatures in the eastern Pacific caused by weakening trade winds. It occurs naturally every ‌two ​to seven years and tends ⁠to last between ⁠nine and 12 months. Its effect on weather globally can threaten crops around the world.

2026 is going to be renowned ​for the development of the largest El Niño in living memory and what is ⁠probably the largest such ⁠event since the 19th century, ​the Met Office said.

The Met Office said ​2027 was very likely to replace 2024 ‌as the warmest year on record.

Their latest forecasts showed a more than 3 degrees Celsius rise in equatorial Pacific sea-surface ⁠temperatures later this year.

A typical El Niño causes a rise of 1 C to 2 C, ⁠with 2 ‌C considered a major event.

“This ⁠implies that if the forecast is ​accurate — ‌and other forecast systems show ​similar extreme ⁠values — then 2026 will far exceed our recent experience of El Niño and its worldwide climate influences,” said Adam Scaife, head of long range forecasting.

Source: Reuters

--Agencies