The US Climate Prediction Center warned on Thursday that there is a 50 percent chance that El Nino will develop this year.
El Nino weather pattern can trigger droughts in Southeast Asia and Australia and floods in South America.
If this happens it will be the first time El NiƱo rears its head since 2009, The Baltimore Sun reports.
Bloomberg reports: “Several preseason hurricane forecasts, including those by Colorado State University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, estimated there would be fewer storms this year than last, based on predictions that an El Nino would form.
“El Nino enhances Atlantic Ocean wind shear, which is a change in speed or direction of winds at different levels in the atmosphere. The winds tear at the structure of growing tropical systems, preventing them from organizing or strengthening.”
While drier conditions could benefit crops such as coffee and cocoa, which were hit by heavy rains last year, analysts have warned that prolonged heat can also hurt yields, Reuter reported.
Malaysia and Indonesia account for 90 percent of the world’s palm oil supplies, while most of the world’s rice is exported from Asia. Asia also produces nearly 40 percent of global wheat supplies and the bulk of natural rubber output.
The last severe El Nino in 1998 killed more than 2,000 people and caused billions of dollars in damage to crops, infrastructure and mines in Australia and other parts of Asia.
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