We are currently heading towards the expected peak of the strongest El Niño on record.

El Niño is a natural weather pattern that develops in the Pacific Ocean and the atmosphere above it.

When the winds that typically blow east-to-west weaken or reverse, warmer water can spread across the central and eastern tropical Pacific leading to changes in atmospheric conditions.

It is no surprise that the regions that see the most obvious weather impacts are the areas bordering this part of the Pacific, such as Peru and Ecuador in the east and Australia and Indonesia to the west.

However, El Niño can also affect weather patterns much further away.

In the UK, it means we tend to see a higher chance of wetter and stormier conditions in autumn and early winter.

There is also a higher chance of colder wintry weather developing late in the winter.

In the US and Canada there can be a greater chance of a warm and dry winter in northern areas and more risk of flooding rain further south.

There is also some evidence that El Niño can increase the likelihood of disruption to the stratospheric polar vortex which can, in turn, bring snowfall later in winter.