UK to be Hit With Strongest El Niño in 100 Years

The Met Office has said that the El Niño brewing over the Pacific Ocean will likely be the strongest to hit the UK in at least a century. 

An El Niño is a climate phenomenon that happens every 2 - 7 years when heat from the ocean transfers into the atmosphere. This causes abnormally high temperatures, which lead to knock on effects in other areas such as heavy rainfall. 

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Professor Adam Scaife, head of long-range forecasting at the Met Office, said: “We expect really severe droughts in places like South America and the west Pacific… we already see signals for increased rainfall and storminess in the autumn here in the UK around November time.”

After the emergency Cobra meeting called by Prime Minister Andy Burnham to discuss the heatwave last week, Burnham said: “We might be in for a wet autumn and winter”. Yet despite this, drought conditions could persist into 2027, because even with the amount of rain El Niño will bring, current forecasts say it won’t be enough for recovery before December.

Written by Jorja Flitcroft