Record El Niño threatens to unleash floods across East Africa and Asia

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) warned that a rapidly intensifying El Niño could bring severe flooding, disease, and drought to Kenya, Uganda, Somalia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. The US Climate Prediction Center estimates an 81% chance it will become one of the most powerful since 1950, peaking between October and December. Equatorial Pacific ocean temperatures are already at record levels for this time of year, according to climate scientist Daniel Swain.