Japan weather bureau sees 80 per cent chance of El Nino continuing into spring

Japan's weather bureau said there was an 80 per cent chance the El Nino weather pattern would stretch into the northern hemisphere spring. PHOTO: AFP

TOKYO (REUTERS) - Japan's weather bureau said on Thursday (Jan 10) that the El Nino weather pattern appears to be continuing and there was an 80 per cent chance it would stretch into the northern hemisphere spring.

A United States government weather forecaster last month projected a 90 per cent chance of the El Nino weather pattern emerging during the northern hemisphere winter 2018-19, with a 60 per cent chance of continuing through spring this year.

The last El Nino, a warming of ocean surface temperatures in the eastern and central Pacific that typically happens every few years, occurred around 2015/2016 and caused weather-related crop damage, fires and flash floods.

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