The terror of the 1990s is back with a vengeance. El Nino, the natural warming of the Pacific Ocean, is predicted to occur within the next few years. This combined with the record high global temperatures could spell disaster for many coastal cities.

Skeptics have eagerly leaped on the ‘pause’ in global warming as evidence that the threat of climate change is nonexistent. They are sorely mistaken.

The Earth’s climate system is at a turning point, according to Professor Adam Scaife of the Met Office.

“We believe we are at an important point in the time series of the Earth’s climate and we’ll look back on this period as an important turning point,” said Professor Scaife. “That’s why we’re emphasizing it because we’re seeing so many big changes at once.”

That shift in the system is going to result in the strongest and most destructive El Nino season ever recorded. The UN’s World Meteorological Organization predicts El Nino will reach its peak between October and January.

The full name of this climate pattern is the El Nino Southern Oscillation – it is not merely a single storm. Fisherman from Peru named the Pacific Ocean phenomena after Jesus Christ in the 1600s. They saw that from time to time around Christmas, the water temperature would rise and the fish would disappear.

Usually, trade winds blow from east to west, moving warm water from the equator into towards Asia and Australia. This movement causes cold, deep ocean waters to well up along the American coasts. In El Nino years, the trade winds grow weaker. Rather than go west, the warm water lingers in the east. The increased water temperature results in greater evaporation of moisture by the atmosphere. This further alters the wind patterns and produces storms.

Observers can tell an El Nino is occurring when temperatures are 0.5 to 1 degree Celsius above the average temperature.  Evidence is already mounting that the Eastern Pacific is already 2 degrees Celsius higher than normal. This indicates the natural cycle of ocean currents is reaching its climax.

The effects of El Nino will be widespread and long lasting. Europe will have cooler summers. Asia and Oceania will suffer droughts. North and South America will be inundated with heavy rains and cyclones.

Already, some countries are preparing for the worst. Thailand is rationing its water. Peru is in a state of emergency due to mudslides. Austraila is suffering the worst draught on record. Traffic has been limited through the Panama canal because the water levels are so low.

“A lot of those things are natural, we’ve had El Ninos when we were cavemen, that’s been going on a long time, and similarly there is evidence for variations in the Atlantic going back 1,000 years through various proxy measures.” Said Professor Scaife. “A lot of these things can occur without the influence of human beings. However, they are now occurring on top of the influence coming from man’s activity, so when they occur, when an El Nino comes and raises the global temperature, that is the icing on the cake, that is the extra bit that creates a record.”

The effects of El Nino will be economic as well as trade and harvests are disrupted.

Some will benefit from El Nino. There will be fewer tornadoes in Midwest America. The Northeast America will experience milder winters. California, long suffering from draught, will see a reprieve.

The upcoming El Nino is going to be a beast. Already headlines have dubbed it ‘Godzilla El Nino’ and ‘Bruce Lee El Nino’. The amount of stored heat expected to be released by this upcoming storm could result in a huge uptick in global warming.