PARIS, Nov 4 — With torrential rains in India and Nepal, and drought already devastating South America, this year’s exceptionally strong El Nino is being felt across the globe.
It threatens rice and coffee harvests to such an extent that the World Bank expects food prices to rise by 18 percent next year.
Ferocious winds and torrential rain lashed India’s southeastern coast after a cyclone made landfall on Wednesday, killing at least three people and triggering nearly 100,000 evacuations.
“Our homes get flooded, and we have to stay in the water,” said Rajeshwari, 65, who gave only one name, after being taken to a government-run shelter near Kakinada, close to the heart of the storm.
