Australia placed on El Niño 'watch' as weather bureau puts chance at 50% for 2017

Analysis shows steady warming in the Pacific Ocean and that Australia could be in for a warmer and drier year

Australia could be heading into another El Nino year according to new analysis by the Bureau of Meteorology, which found the chance Australia would be affected by the phenomenon in 2017 had increased to 50%.

Six of the eight models used by Australian climatologists to predict El Nino and La Nina events indicate the El Nino threshold could be reached by July, while seven indicate a steady warming in the Pacific Ocean over the next six months.