Brits warned they may have to stock up on food supplies amid 'supersized' El Niño warning
The government is preparing to issue advice to the public on how to prepare for a national emergency
Brits have been warned they might have to stock up on enough food and water supplies to survive days without power after experts predicted this year's El Niño is likely to intensify.
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The weather phenomenon could bring a wet and stormy winter to the UK and extreme heat and wildfires across the globe.
As a result, the government had set out plans to advise the public to prepare for national emergencies, after this year's event was described as "supersized" with the potential to be the biggest El Niño in 1,000 years.
Environment Secretary Angela Eagle stressed the importance of keeping enough supplies at home.
Read more: 'Unprecedented' El Niño weather event to be 'strongest in living memory' as storms and rain to hit UK, says Met Office
Read more: Strong El Niño could push 49 million more people into acute hunger
Forecasters have ALSO predicted an "exceptionally huge likelihood of nearly 100 per cent" that it will have lasting impacts until February.
Ms Eagle told The Guardian: "It will do a lot more damage in Asia with flooding, and therefore I think that we need to take it seriously.
"If you've got a store of a bit of food that can keep you going for a while before the emergency services can get to you, you’re going to be a lot better off than if you haven't.
"So some of it is that kind of preparation for just being a bit more resilient."
The weather pattern is declared when sea temperatures in the tropical eastern Pacific rise 0.5C above the long-term average, impacting global rainfall patterns and average temperatures.
It happens every two to three years, with the effects lasting for around one year.
El Niño events drive an increase in global average temperature, and 2027 is forecast to be the warmest year on record.
Analysis from the Energy and Climate Unit (ECIU) found that countries that could be exposed to climate extremes were the source of 13 per cent of UK food imports.
Antonio Guterres, the UN's Secretary-General, said this week: "El Niño is being supersized before our eyes. The science leaves no room for doubt, the planet is in uncharted waters, and those waters are heating up.
"Sea surface temperatures are rising, temperatures keep climbing, and the world is in the danger zone of extreme weather.
"The race now is between rising risks and our commitment to take climate action and protect people. We must win that race."
In contrast to the predicted wet weather, this summer saw an unprecedented string of heatwaves and lack of rainfall in recent months, which brought the driest July in the UK for 190 years.
The temperatures pushed almost three-quarters (71.3%) of England and all of Wales into drought, putting severe pressure on the water system, wildlife, farmers, emergency services and infrastructure.