Weather experts are warning that a rare climate phenomenon may bring heat waves to the area.

The expected super El Niño development is anticipated to push temperatures higher, possibly leading to highly changeable meteorological conditions.

A Met Office representative indicated that there is high confidence El Niño will develop during the latter months of this year. Forecasts suggest it will likely be a substantial event, and global temperatures for 2027 would increase should a widespread episode occur.

The phenomenon is characterised by sea surface temperatures exceeding normal levels in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean, which prompts shifts in global weather patterns. This happens when temperatures surpass the usual baseline by at least 0.5 degrees Celsius across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific zone.

The Met Office observed that predicting consequences for European climate patterns proves more problematic, although it is important to understand that the strength of effects does not necessarily grow proportionally with El Niño’s intensity.

This is just one of several climatic drivers capable of affecting the United Kingdom, so assessment of how competing factors interact will be necessary as events unfold, the spokesperson added.

El Niño’s effects generally reach their maximum around December, and the name derives from the Spanish expression El Niño de Navidad, meaning the Christ Child, since Peruvian fishermen first noticed the occurrence over the Christmas season.