WHO warns of public health risks arising from the El Niño phenomenon

By favoring torrential rains and flooding, El Niño can also increase the spread of diseases transmitted by mosquitoes, such as malaria, dengue fever and chikungunya.

"The health consequences of El Niño are predictable. We have a window of opportunity to act now, before these risks become a crisis," said Teresa Zakaria, head of WHO's Disaster Risk Reduction, Humanitarian Operations and Climate Change Unit, during a press conference in Geneva. She calls for "preventive measures to save lives."

The WHO urges countries to better prepare their health systems, strengthen epidemiological surveillance, guarantee health care and store medical supplies in areas of greatest risk.

"El Niño represents a major threat to public health," warned Zakaria. "We expect to see health repercussions around the world."

The current El Niño episode could be "the most intense" observed since records began four decades ago, the UN's World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warned in early September.

"Its impact coincides with reference temperatures that are already very high across the planet. It is, in a way, a double blow," concluded Castellan.