GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — There is an 80 per cent chance of the warming El Niño phenomenon developing between June and August, increasing the risk of extreme weather events, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said Tuesday.

“Fuelled by unusually warm ocean waters in the tropical Pacific, El Niño conditions are developing and are set to influence global temperature and rainfall patterns,” the United Nations’ WMO weather and climate agency said.

Forecasts from the WMO global network “indicate a pronounced shift toward El Niño conditions, with probabilities reaching 80 per cent for June-August”, the Geneva-based organisation said.