Japan may face a hotter-than-usual summer this year caused by the El Nino climate pattern, which some experts warn could develop into a “super El Nino.”
In a forecast for the three months from July, the Meteorological Agency said Tuesday that the combination of El Nino — warmer water in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean — with the lingering effects of La Nina, which persisted through the winter, is causing thunderclouds in the Philippines, pushing high pressure in the Pacific to the west.
“This means eastern and western Japan, along with Okinawa and the Amami islands, will be covered by warm air,” according to the weather agency’s forecast.