El Niño expected to develop in coming months, bringing hotter and drier weather to eastern Australia

The BoM says models indicate the forecast El Niño will be at least moderate in strength, with a strong event possible. Photograph: Tracey Nearmy/Reuters

Australia should prepare for an imminent El Niño, with the Bureau of Meteorology and other agencies forecasting that the weather phenomenon is likely to develop in the coming months.

“The models are really aligning now,” Felicity Gamble, a senior BoM climatologist, said. “We are expecting a transition to El Niño sometime during winter.”