El Nino Building in Tropical Pacific

Equitorial ocean temperature patterns in early July were similar to a fully developed El Niño warming.

Australia’s weather agency cautioned that the El Niño ocean-warming phenomenon is likely to develop further over the remainder of the year, affecting weather patterns around the world.

Bureau of Meteorology senior climatologist Andrew Watkins said the tropical Pacific between South America and Indonesia is “warming reasonably rapidly.”

Other weather agencies have said that the recent warming could soon reverse back to normal, or “neutral,” conditions.

But Watkins says there now are strong indications that the warming will persist and become even stronger.

The last severe El Niño in 1998 caused billions of dollars of damage to agriculture and other industries, and was blamed for over 2,000 deaths.

The phenomenon typically brings drought to Australia, Indonesia and southeast Africa. It has also produced heavy storms in California and the Pacific coast of South America.

Warmer-than-normal wintertime conditions also develop across many parts of North America.

Graphic Data: NOAA National Climatic Data Center