The ongoing El Niño is set to peak in December and lead to above-average temperatures across large parts of the world in the coming months, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has warned.The UN body further said that there is an increased risk of droughts and floods given that the normal rainfall patterns would see a shift under the influence of the intensifying El Niño conditions. The October-December months will see El Niño reach its peak and the event will extend well into the 2027 spring of the northern hemisphere.El Niño is a climate pattern marked by unusually warm Pacific waters that disrupts global weather.“El Niño is firmly established and strengthening rapidly. WMO forecasts indicate a near-100 per cent likelihood that it will persist through February 2027, potentially being one of the strongest since at least 1950,” said Celeste Saulo, WMO Secretary-General, in a statement issued on Thursday.Also Read | Monsoon ends with 13% rain deficit, driest year in a decadeDry monsoon, hottest summerThis year, India’s southwest monsoon season ended in a 13 per cent rainfall deficit. The 2026 monsoon was the fourth driest since 2001. El Niño impacted the country’s rainfall during the second half of the season. Many states, including Maharashtra and Karnataka, have declared drought, with Maharashtra imposing a 10 per cent water cut in many of its districts.Likewise, Europe experienced one its hottest summers this year with record-breaking temperatures sweeping France, Spain, and the UK. The arid summer left major rivers, including Danube, Rhine, and Thames, dry.A naturally occurring ocean-atmospheric phenomenon recurring once between two to seven years, the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) has three phases: warm (El Niño), neutral and cool (La Niña).Story continues below this adAlso Read | Minimum 10% water cut in Maharashtra from October 16 amid drought, El Nino concernsThe sea temperatures along the equatorial Pacific Ocean, the WMO said, have dramatically risen in recent months thus reflecting the intensifying El Niño event. In August, the temperature in the Nino 3.4 region (which determines the ENSO phase) was 2.5 degree Celsius above normal, WMO officials noted.El Niño is known to suppress rainfall over India and many places, globally, resulting in droughts. It also pushes temperatures to rise significantly above average. El Niño is declared when the sea temperatures recorded along the equatorial and central Pacific Ocean exceeds 0.5 degrees Celsius from normal.