The ongoing El Niño phenomenon is expected to strengthen further and could become one of the most intense events recorded in decades, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warned Thursday.

In its latest global seasonal climate update, the agency forecasts above-average temperatures across much of the planet between October and December, warning that the conditions could affect economies, ecosystems and communities around the world.

Forecasts indicate that sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific could reach record levels during the coming months. The anomaly could reach around 3.7 degrees Celsius above average, with the peak expected in December.

That would surpass the previous record anomaly of 2.6 degrees Celsius, recorded between November 2015 and January 2016 during another strong El Niño event.

The WMO estimates there is a probability of nearly 100% that El Niño will continue through February 2027. The organization said the event could become one of the strongest El Niño episodes recorded since at least 1950.