China's National Climate Centre expects El Nino conditions to emerge in May and forecasts a moderate-or-stronger El Nino weather event in the summer and autumn, state media reported:

• The El Nino event is expected to last "at least through the end of this year", the NCC said

• The forecaster said it is too early to say if global temperatures will hit a record high this year, but "related risk is rising significantly"

• In China, the El Nino effect generally causes increased rainfall in southern regions during autumn, raising the risk of disruptions to the harvest of late-season rice

• El Nino could also lead to warmer-than-usual conditions in winter, reducing water supplies for spring ploughing next year

-Reporting by Xiuhao Chen and Ryan Woo; Editing by Himani Sarkar/Reuters