'Super' El Nino weather could hit you in the pocket - everything from anchovies to energy bills

'Super' El Nino weather could hit you in the pocket - everything from anchovies to energy bills EXCLUSIVE: Climate and retail experts have told the Mirror that the El Nino is set to send prices soaring in British shops after top UN meteorologists sounded the warning over the weather event Experts have warned that a 'super' El Nino brewing in the Pacific could trigger a new cost of living crisis - and send the prices of some everyday essentials rocketing even further. The UN's meteorological agency WMO warned on Thursday that the disruptive weather phenomenon is currently "developing" and is set to "strengthen rapidly" over the coming months - increasing the chances of extreme event across the globe, including heatwaves, droughts, and severe flooding. An El Nino occurs when surface water temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean become unusually warm, triggering a shift in global ocean currents and circulation of air around the atmosphere. And this year's version of the weather system is showing signs of being "particularly strong", Gareth Redmond-King from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) told the Mirror, adding to the current "polycrisis" of climate change, economic uncertainty, and global conflict. Rice and grains El Nino can contribute to dramatic swings between extreme dry weather and heavy rainfall - disrupting key harvests for staple foods in parts of the world. Mr Redmond-King said rice is one item under threat, as key export regions India and Pakistan were "likely to be much, much drier under El Niño". Looking back at the impact of the last major El Nino event on the subcontinent in 2023, he told the Mirror: "We saw global shortages, we saw prices go up - we saw India in fact limit exports, which hit us in terms of the imports that now cost more." Totally self-sufficient nations were "very rare" in the 21st century, and Britain is especially exposed to overseas weather shocks because we "import about "two-fifths of our food", the climate policy expert said. The most vulnerable nations - ones which are already being affected by climate change and fare particularly badly during periods of extreme weather - provided £8.9billion of the UK's food imports last year. Fruit and vegetables Prices could also tick up in the fruit and veg aisle during a strong El Nino. Karen Green, a former retail buyer for Tesco and Boots, explained: "Countries like Morocco may experience drought - which could impact our imports of tomatoes, peppers - whereas Kenya is more likely to have floods, and so that will disrupt supply and possible crop failure for green beans and peas." Tropical fruits - such as citrus and bananas - also featured high up the list of items under threat during an El Nino year, as they have to be imported. Coffee Your morning cup of coffee could also be under threat from a strong El Nino this year. Mr Redmond King said: "We import most of our coffee from Brazil. The El Nino tends to add heat and moisture into the weather systems over South America - and and coffee, as with any other plant, doesn't do well with heat outside of its ideal, optimum range for growing. "Brazil has seen serious flooding as a result of climate change, which is then compounded if you've got more moisture in the system and the likelihood of heavier rains with El Niño." Vietnam, the second biggest exporter of coffee to the UK, was "also likely to be hit", as drier, hotter weather "makes it harder and harder for farmers to sow the crops at the right time and harvest them at the right time". Fish Peru is already reporting an 'El Nino effect' on its vital anchovy stocks in the Pacific ocean. Unusually warm ocean waters brought in by changed currents have disrupted the cold, nutrient-rich areas usually home to the fish, causing them to dive further underwater. But juvenile anchovies struggle to survive this trip down - sparking fears that the population may be under dire threat. Officials have set this year's fishing limits at one million tonnes less than last year as a "precautionary approach". Electricity bills El Nino heatwaves can trigger massive spikes in global electricity demand for refrigeration and air conditioning, as well as power-guzzling irrigation systems on farms. With the Strait of Hormuz crisis and Russia-Ukraine war sending UK electricity prices aabout 50% to 70% higher than they were before the pandemic, Mr Redmond-King described the addition of an El Niño to the current global mix as being in "perfect storm territory" and a "polycrisis". "That's the problem, is that everything's coming together," he explained. "We've got climate change intensifying... we've got the second fossil fuel crisis in five years... and at the same time as all that is happening, along comes El Nino - and seemingly not just a run-of-the-mill El Nino. "The WMO said yesterday that there are strong signs of it intensifying over the next few months, and all the indications before the WMO declared it a couple of months ago were that it's going to be a particularly strong El Nino. "So it's perfect storm territory, I guess. We've just got lots of these crises coming on together. "We can't do anything about El Nino. It comes, it goes, we have no control over it. We have control over climate change, and we know that net zero emissions is the only solution that will halt it and prevent humans adding even more heat to the system, which then, of course, makes it safer in the future when El Nino comes along and adds heat to the system that we can't do anything about." Chocolate El Nino historically brings volatile weather to West Africa, the world's primary producer of cocoa that used to make your favourite chocolate treats. Cocoa prices have risen by roughly 50% to 100% in the past five years, in part caused by a number of failed harvests in the Ivory Coast and Ghana resulting from droughts, irregular rainfall and plant diseases. An El Nino year dramatically increases the chance of extreme weather events - though one crumb of comfort may be that some price rises will appear towards the end of the year, rather than over the next few weeks. Ms Green explained: "For commodities like coffee, cocoa and rice, prices are often agreed months in advance and it is rare for a retailer to accept a cost price increase with less than 12 weeks implementation. If you factor in the the negotiation process it is likely to be next year before it hits the retail prices "But hit it will - and then we will be seeing the same old headlines about shrinkflation and UK produce shortages."