'Godzilla' El Niño: What should Londoners do to prepare?

Londoners have been urged to prepare for extreme weather conditions as the strongest El Niño event in 1,000 years develops over the Pacific Ocean.Forecasters around the world are warning of wildfires and floods, while the UK is set for a particularly wet and stormy winter.The UK government has urged citizens to stock up on supplies, and to ensure they have enough food and water on hand to survive a few days without power or water.Professor Richard Wilding, an expert in supply chain strategy, told the BBC: "Things that were in supermarkets and seen as relatively abundant may all of a sudden be in shortage.”Recent data shows the Pacific is around 2.6C above the 30-year averageaapsky - stock.adobe.com‘Prioritise certain food groups’Senior nutrition scientist Dr Sammie Gill, from the British Nutrition Foundation, advises prioritising certain food groups, including complex carbohydrates such as oats, rice and pasta, and proteins such as lentils and unsalted nuts, as well as canned oily fish such as tuna, mackerel and sardines.Tinned fruit, pickled foods such as vegetables and eggs, and long-life milk are also recommended.Experts advise looking out for salt and sugar content when buying tinned items and to avoid items tinned in brine or syrups, or foods with high salt content, added sugars and limited nutrients.People should ensure they have between two and three litres of drinking water per person per day, as well as an additional six to seven litres per person per day for basic hygiene and cooking.‘Be a bit more resilient’Earlier this month, Angela Eagle told The Guardian: “We’re about to experience probably the largest El Niño that has ever been seen, and that will lead to drier summers, wetter winters, with more extreme storms in this country.“It will do a lot more damage in Asia with flooding, and therefore I think that we need to take it seriously.“If you’ve got a store of a bit of food that can keep you going for a while before the emergency services can get to you, you’re going to be a lot better off than if you haven’t. So some of it is that kind of preparation for just being a bit more resilient.”El Niño is a natural climate cycle which leads to rising ocean temperatures, with recent data showing the Pacific is around 2.6C above the 30-year average. It is forecast to peak at around 4C above average by November, according to the average of 14 different models, which would turn the scale of the phenomenon into a “Godzilla-level” event according to climate scientists.Read MoreIt is predicted to result in 2027 becoming the hottest year ever recorded.Environment Secretary Dame Angela EaglePAStorms more likelyA Met Office spokesperson said: “Although the UK is thousands of miles from the tropical Pacific, El Niño can influence weather patterns across Europe through remote atmospheric connections. “As the event approaches its winter peak, there is an increased likelihood of wetter and stormier conditions across north-west Europe, including the UK, during autumn and early winter. “While El Niño is only one of many factors influencing the UK's weather, its growing influence may therefore increase the chances of a more unsettled period during the coming months. “Later in the season, El Niño is associated with increased risk of cold snaps. Seasonal forecasts will continue to incorporate the latest ocean and atmospheric observations to assess how these signals evolve.”The London Assembly has also called on all Londoners to plan for more extreme weather. London is likely to be face more stormy weather this winter AFP/GettyIn a motion earlier this month, Green assembly leader Caroline Russell said: “This Assembly calls on all Londoners, public bodies and businesses in London to take note of the warnings from the Met Office and plan now for another hot summer, but also for a potentially stronger winter storm season – likely causing more wind and rain than usual. “The change in weather patterns will have consequences that must be planned for.”Ms Eagle is looking to oversee farming improvements and a new programme of reservoir building in order to leave Britain better prepared for extreme weather in future years.It comes as the National Audit Office (NAO) warns that Britain's food supply chain is vulnerable to extreme weather that could leave the UK’s food supply at risk.It also cited plant or human disease outbreaks, cyber-attacks and climate change, warning that disruptions could push up prices and leave vulnerable people struggling to buy food.The NAO said the Department for Food, the Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) was too reliant on private companies to handle disruptions to food supply, and that the department had not done enough in recent years to improve supply chain resilience.