Strong El Nino could push 49 million more into acute hunger, U.N. agency says

Geneva – A powerful El Nino weather event could push an additional nearly 49 million people into acute food insecurity across some of the world’s most vulnerable regions by the end of next year, the World ​Food Program said on Wednesday.

The U.N. agency said in a report that there was an 81% chance of a very ‌strong ‌El Nino event, with sea surface temperatures at their warmest levels since at least 1982 ​and potentially making it the strongest such event since 1950.

El Niño, a periodic warming of ocean surface temperatures in the Pacific, alters global weather patterns and is often associated with drought in Southern Africa, delayed monsoons in parts of Asia and ⁠erratic rainfall elsewhere.