El Nino warning: Polar vortex could hit London's weather earlier than first feared

Londoners could face freezing temperatures far sooner than expected, as El Niño continues to strengthen across the Pacific to what some scientists are calling “unprecedented levels”.

Should the vortex weaken, it could disrupt the jet stream, allowing bitterly cold Arctic air to plunge southwards towards Europe.

And the impact could be felt across the capital as early as November, with London facing a sudden drop in temperatures months earlier than previously expected.

It was initially anticipated that temperatures would drop in January of next year.

Londoners could face freezing temperatures far sooner than expected this winter

PA Wire

But NASA forecasts show the wind circulation weakening, with wind strength falling to 26.9mph on October 31, to 20.5mph on November 1 and 9.3mph on November 3.

“The stratospheric sudden warming can sometimes cause the jet stream to ‘snake’ more, and this tends to create a large area of blocking high pressure,” the forecaster said.

Experts say this weather pattern typically develops over the North Atlantic and Scandinavia, bringing the prospect of prolonged periods of cold, dry weather across northern Europe, including the UK.

Meanwhile, southern parts of Europe are more likely to experience milder, wetter and windier conditions.

People in snowy conditions in Westminster central London

PA Wire

Along the boundary of these areas, easterly winds can develop, dragging colder air westwards.

In some cases, the plunge in temperatures can bring snowfall as seen during the severe cold spell of early 2018, infamously known as the 'Beast from the East'.

But forecasters can only reliably predict sudden stratospheric warmings around a week in advance.

The chances of an atmospheric disruption are unusually high this year. Meteorological models are currently tracking an imminent, potentially record-breaking event, with forecasting odds sitting between 61% and 86% for a major stratospheric disturbance.

Dr Judah Cohen, an atmospheric and environmental research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), told Fox Weather: “This will be, I think almost undoubtedly, the largest, earliest disruption of the polar vortex on record.”

London is set for a particularly wet and stormy winter as a result of El Nino

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Items include water, tinned food, blankets, torches in case of power cuts and a basic first aid kit.

Environment Secretary Dame 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.”