El Nino could cause 451,000 extra heat deaths — research

PARIS, France (AFP) — This year’s powerful El Nino weather pattern could lead to 451,000 additional heat-related deaths worldwide through February as it turbocharges global temperatures, according to projections published on Wednesday.

The warming phenomenon, which was declared in June and is due to peak later this year, is on course to be the strongest on record, amplifying the effects of human-induced climate change.

The estimates by the Climate Impact Lab at the University of Chicago found that developing countries would be hit hardest by the heat-related toll in the June to February period.