A ‘Godzilla’ El Niño so strong that it could outstrip every other in recorded history is set land in a matter of months, tipping global weather patterns on their head – and hitting Brits squarely in their pockets.

Scientists and top weather experts have warned in recent months that a super-powered El Niño – a recurring climate event originating in the Pacific Ocean that causes sea warming, creating a massive heat source that raises global temperatures and disrupts the weather – is inbound this year. El Niños occur every two to seven years with varying intensity, raising temperatures in a vast area between North and South America and Asia by an average of 0.5C above the long-term average.

But the latest, a weather expert has warned, could outstrip historic temperature increases established in previous events, and potentially exacerbate the ongoing cost of living and price rise crises by interrupting the UK’s commodities supply chain.

Speaking to the Mirror, weather expert and founder of British Weather Services, Jim Dale, said that the long-term average during the latest El Niño could reach a “catastrophic” 5C, and be compounded by the effects of global warming. He said: “One of the reasons why this is being flagged is because the combination between that and ongoing global warming means that we could be on steroids in terms of when it actually manifests in its fullness.”

The extreme nature of the upcoming temperature increase is set to produce nightmare conditions across a massive band across the equator.

Tropical land is likely to be unnaturally suppressed when El Niño arrives, leaving Asia, Africa and South America with drier than usual conditions during the continents’ rainy seasons. The phenomenon will also hit the United States, Peru, Argentina, and nations in southern Europe, and East Africa, where it can cause increased rainfall and severe flooding.

Read More: Godzilla El Nino set to be worst in history, could leave UK with bare supermarket shelves and rising prices