AUSTRALIA’S weather bureau today declared the formation of an El Nino weather pattern, bringing hot and dry conditions likely to increase the severity of bushfires and drought. 

Government forecaster Karl Braganza said an El Nino pattern had settled over the Pacific Ocean, coinciding with an unusual spring heatwave currently baking eastern Australia.

Braganza said the El Nino pattern would continue to warm up the planet’s oceans, which have “been in record temperatures since April”. 

“This summer will be hotter than average, and certainly hotter than the last three years,” he said. 

The World Meteorological Organization earlier this year forecast that there was a 90% chance of El Nino conditions forming over the second half of 2023. 

“The onset of El Nino will greatly increase the likelihood of breaking temperature records and triggering more extreme heat in many parts of the world and in the ocean,” the global body said at the time.  – AFP, September 19, 2023.