Summer in Spain and the 'Super Niño' effect: Aemet experts explain

After one of the wettest winters in recent years, summer could bring very high or even record-breaking temperatures to Spain.

Initial estimates suggest that a 'Super Niño' weather phenomenon could develop. This is an intensification of the 'El Niño' effect, a phenomenon whereby the surface waters of the equatorial Pacific experience a greater-than-usual warming as the trade winds weaken. This disrupts normal weather patterns when it reaches the atmosphere and can cause droughts in some parts of the world and floods in others.

The forecasting models of the Spanish meteorological agency (Aemet) estimate the probability of an El Niño developing in early summer at 60 per cent. They also put the probability of a strong El Niño before autumn at around 20-25 per cent.

This would mean that the water temperature in a certain area of the Pacific would be more than a few degrees above normal, hence the name 'Super Niño', which can cause serious havoc due to the rise in temperatures.

Both climate phenomena - La Niña and El Niño - modulate Earth's climate from the Pacific Ocean. La Niña tends to cool these waters and, consequently, the rest of the planet. In contrast, El Niño tends to do the opposite by warming them. They occur cyclically and alternate: the first weakens between February and May and its successor appears during the summer months, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), an environmental intelligence agency for climate, weather and more in the USA.