BEIJING, Sept 29 (Reuters) – China expects the strongest super El Nino event on record to develop this year, government meteorologists told a press conference on Tuesday.
• The central and eastern equatorial Pacific started to show El Nino conditions in May, and sea surface temperature indices have risen rapidly, officials of the National Climate Centre said
• The sea surface temperature index is projected to peak at 3.2 degrees Celsius to 3.5 degrees C (37.76 degrees Fahrenheit to 38.3 degrees F) around November, for the strongest super El Nino event since records of instrument measurements began, officials said
• El Nino had a strong impact during China’s flood season this year, and will keep influencing conditions both worldwide and in China in autumn and winter, as well as next spring and summer, they said
• The El Nino weather phenomenon typically occurs every two to seven years, when weakening trade winds result in warmer waters in the eastern Pacific
• It tends to cause higher global temperatures and disrupt rainfall patterns across large regions bringing drought to some areas and heavy rain to others
(Reporting by Xiuhao Chen and Liz Lee; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
