El Niño Odds Rise as Storm and Crop Threats Intensify Globally

The odds are rising that a weather-roiling El Niño will emerge in the next few months and strengthen through the year, threatening global crop supplies, altering storm patterns and pushing temperatures toward record highs.

There is an 82% chance El Niño will develop in the equatorial Pacific between May and July, and a 67% chance it will be either a strong or very strong event when it peaks between November to January, the US Climate Prediction Center said in a Thursday statement.