The cyclical climate phenomenon known as El Niño will return at the end of theyear, but will lack the strong intensity if had in 1997-1998, when it triggered droughts and devastating fires in Brazil, say meteorologists here. It will tend to be “moderate” in comparison because the surface waters of the equatorial Pacific Ocean will be two to four degrees warmer than average, Epedito Gomes Rebello, a researcher at the National Institute of Meteorology, told Tierramérica.

This is predictable because the water currents at a depth of 100 meters are already four degrees warmer, he said. As a result of the ocean's interaction with the atmosphere there will be drought in the northern Amazon and in northeast Brazil, while there will be heavier rains in the south.