China Forecasts Its Strongest El Nino on Record, Peaking by December
Sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific are set to peak around November and December, after July disasters left 318 dead or missing and $8.5 billion in losses.
BEIJING, Aug 18 (Reuters) - China's National Climate Centre has forecast the formation of a super El Nino that could be the strongest ever recorded, state broadcaster CCTV said on Tuesday.
Here are some details of the forecast:
• Sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean are expected to rise steadily and peak around November to December, forming potentially the strongest El Nino in history, CCTV reported citing the climate centre.
• Since the start of the summer, China has already seen the effects of an El Nino, including torrential rain in various regions.
• The rain belts have sometimes overlapped, compounding disasters.
• Typhoons have been strong and active, marked by prolonged wind and rainfall.
• Last week, the strongest typhoon to hit China this year, Typhoon Dolphin unleashed extreme rain across the country's eastern, central and northern regions, far from the coast where it made landfall following a two-week journey across the Pacific Ocean.
• The government said natural disasters in July had left 318 dead or missing, and incurred $8.5 billion in direct economic losses.
• In July, the United Nations weather agency raised its forecast for the rapid emergence of a strong El Nino in the coming months, warning the phenomenon is likely to drive global temperatures higher.
(Reporting by Liz Lee and Beijing newsroom; Editing by Kate Mayberry)
