According to the World Meteorological Organization, the El Niño of 2015-2016 is shaping up to be one of the strongest in this past century. Here are the types of weather we can expect around the world due to this year's El Niño. (World Meteorological Organization/ YouTube)
'Severe droughts and devastating flooding being experienced throughout the tropics and sub-tropical zones bear the hallmarks of this El Niño, which is the strongest in more than 15 years,' WMO chief Michel Jarraud said.
El Niño is triggered by a warming in sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean. It can cause unusually heavy rains in some parts of the world and drought elsewhere.
The UN agency said this year's event was expected to push water surface temperatures in the east-central Pacific Ocean more than 2°C above normal.
This makes it one of the four strongest El Niños since 1950.
Previous particularly strong El Niños occurred in 1972-73, 1982-83 and 1997-98.
Typically, El Niño events reach their maximum strength between October and January, but often continue to wreak havoc through the first quarter of the year.
The phenomenon usually leaves countries like India, Indonesia and Australia drier, increasing chances of wildfires and lower crop production.
