El Niño could push 50m people into acute hunger before end of next year

UN forecasters warn of worsening conditions in 45 countries currently experiencing severe food insecurity

About 50 million people are likely to be pushed into acute hunger before the end of next year by the rapidly developing El Nino weather system, according to forecasting.

This is in addition to the hundreds of millions of people already facing dangerous levels of hunger, owing to years of drought in parts of Africa and pressure on food prices from the war in Iran.