El Nino's impending arrival may bring more rain and later typhoons to Hong Kong
Weather anomaly is just round the corner and could last over a year this time, experts say
The first El Nino in more than four years could distort Hong Kong's weather, pushing back the arrival of typhoons and increasing rainfall later in the year, forecasters say.
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology has predicted a more than 70 per cent chance of an El Nino this year - the first since 2010 - and scientists say it could be the strongest in decades.
Judging from previous occurrences, the weather anomaly - caused by a band of warm ocean water that periodically develops off South America's Pacific coast - could last a year or longer.
Australian meteorologists said sub-surface sea temperatures had already warmed by as much as six degrees in recent months, with the warm water rapidly travelling eastwards.
"I think this is very characteristic of a strong El Nino," Dr Wenju Cai, a climate expert at Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, said.
While floods and droughts are expected elsewhere, an El Nino is expected to delay Hong Kong's typhoon season and increase rainfall in winter and spring.