Urgent aid needed to fight �super� El Nino: Oxfam

Droughts, erratic rains and frosts brought by a super-charged El Nino are severely impacting the Pacific, with Papua New Guinea worst hit, aid group Oxfam said in a report yesterday, reports AFP from Sydney.
Calling for an urgent up-scaling in relief to save lives, the charity said 4.7 million people faced hunger, poverty and disease in the Pacific region as a result of the weather pattern.
“This is a crisis on a huge global scale,” the report, “Early Action on Super-charged El Nino Vital to Save Lives”, said.
“The current El Nino is one of the strongest ever measured, which means there will be more extreme weather conditions that will threaten people’s food security, lives and livelihoods.”
El Nino is the name given to a weather pattern associated with a sustained period of warming in the central and eastern tropical Pacific which can spark deadly and costly climate extremes.
Last month, the UN weather agency warned the phenomenon, triggered by a warming in sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, was the worst in more than 15 years.
Oxfam said climate change was super-charging the effects of El Nino and despite a landmark global climate pact reached in Paris on the weekend, much needed to be done rapidly to cut emissions.
It said the result of the current strong El Nino would likely be 40-50 million people globally facing hunger, disease and water shortages in early 2016 as the slow onset crisis plays out.
The worst-affected places include Papua New Guinea in the Asia-Pacific as well as Ethiopia and Malawi in Africa and Guatemala, Haiti and Honduras in Latin America.

Urgent aid needed to fight �super� El Nino: Oxfam

Droughts, erratic rains and frosts brought by a super-charged El Nino are severely impacting the Pacific, with Papua New Guinea worst hit, aid group Oxfam said in a report yesterday, reports AFP from Sydney. Calling for an urgent up-scaling in relief to save lives, the charity said 4.7 million people faced hunger, poverty and disease in the Pacific region as a result of the weather pattern. This is a crisis on a huge global scale, the report, Early Action on Super-charged El Nino Vital to Save Lives, said. The current El Nino is one of the strongest ever measured, which means there will be more extreme weather conditions that will threaten peoples food security, lives and livelihoods. El Nino is the name given to a weather pattern associated with a sustained period of warming in the central and eastern tropical Pacific which can spark deadly and costly climate extremes. Last month, the UN weather agency warned the phenomenon, triggered by a warming in sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, was the worst in more than 15 years. Oxfam said climate change was super-charging the effects of El Nino and despite a landmark global climate pact reached in Paris on the weekend, much needed to be done rapidly to cut emissions. It said the result of the current strong El Nino would likely be 40-50 million people globally facing hunger, disease and water shortages in early 2016 as the slow onset crisis plays out. The worst-affected places include Papua New Guinea in the Asia-Pacific as well as Ethiopia and Malawi in Africa and Guatemala, Haiti and Honduras in Latin America.