World placed on El Nino alert

The world has been placed on an El Nino alert. There is new evidence that the weather system, which caused thousands of deaths across the globe in 1997/8, is about to re-occur.

American scientists and forecasters say they have evidence that the temperature of the Pacific Ocean is rising, this is normally regarded as the first sign El Nino is on the way. It is thought the impact of the system, which last time around caused landslides and floods in Africa and South America and forest fires in Asia, should be evident by spring.