It has caused heavy rain and severe flooding across South America, and scorching temperatures and drought conditions in the Horn of Africa. The weather pattern known as El Nino is cutting a devastating path across the globe.

In Africa, around 31 million people are said to be facing food shortages, with over 10 million Ethiopians projected to require humanitarian assistance.

In Southeast Asia, countries are leaving fields and rice paddies un-planted due to severe hot, dry conditions.
Prices for commodities like sugar, cooking oils, cocoa and dairy products have shot up.

CCTV America’s Sean Callebs reports.

The Heat was joined by the following panel:

• From the United Kingdom, where he serves as a Senior Lecturer and Economics Fellow at the University of Cambridge is Kamiar Mohaddes.
• From New York is Gerald Bourke, a Senior Communications Officer with the United Nations World Food Program.
• Roxy Mathew Koll joins The Heat from Mumbai. Koll is a Climate Scientist with the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology.
• In the Washington, D.C. studio for CCTV America is the Director of Science and Solutions at The Climate Reality Project, Ryan Towell.