Updated

A new report by climate scientists projects that the current 'super' El Niño, which has already surpassed the highest temperature ever recorded for the phenomenon months before its expected peak, could cause more than 450,000 additional deaths worldwide by February, with impacts felt from Nigeria to the US and Indonesia to India. In response, California's governor has declared a state of emergency, bracing for record-breaking winter storms and flooding driven by the same climate pattern. The El Niño has also been linked to the rapid intensification of Pacific hurricanes such as Polo, and is being described as a major driver of extreme weather this year on top of existing climate-change impacts.