Extreme winter weather 'more likely' in London as world facing Godzilla El Niño 'stress like we've never seen before'

A record-breaking El Niño unfolding on the other side of the world is clearly raising the chance of extreme weather in London this winter, according to a top scientist.

The so-called “Godzilla” El Niño is worrying scientists and governments around the globe amid fears it will spark naturals disasters and extreme weather that will claim hundreds of thousands of lives.

Britain, along with much of Europe, should escape the worst of the impact as El Niños have a much stronger bearing on weather patterns in regions such as India, East Asia, South America and parts of Africa.

However the UK Government has warned that Britons face higher prices for foods like rice and coffee if harvests are badly impacted, while energy bills could also spike.

The El Niño is expected to peak in December and last through to February 2027.

Members of London Fire Brigade assess the damage at a pub after Storm Katie hit the capital in March 2016

AFP/Getty

But he said the science was clear: there is a “greater likelihood” of more more extreme weather in the coming months.

“There’s an expectation of the first part of the winter being milder, wetter and windier,” said Mr Stockdale.

That could even be good news for southern England given this year’s drought, he added, with water levels needing to “recharge”, while also providing plenty of wind power.

“Later winter is a more complex story, although big El Niño events can be associated with colder weather. It is variable (but) the probabilities are there.

“Where the balance of things will be in later winter, I don’t feel confident about it.”

A 90-year-old man died after he was blown in front of as bus in Finchley, north London, as the UK was blasted by Storm Desmond.

Over Easter 2016, the capital was rocked by Storm Katie. High winds bent a construction crane in Greenwich, and dozens of roofs were damaged across the capital.

He said: “When we first were predicting this back in March and April, it really was a prediction - it wasn’t actually happening.

“Our models told us this big El Niño was coming.

“When we got to June, the models were pointing to a record El Niño.

“Now, as we speak, the El Niño is here.

Flooded streets following the arrival of Hurricane Polo in the town of Puerto San Carlos, Baja California Sur, Mexico, on September 29, 2026

AFP/Getty

“The temperatures in the middle of the Pacific are warmer than they have ever been before. They are breaking the records by quite a big margin.

“It’s as big an El Niño as we’ve ever had. But then it’s happening on top of global warming.”

He said scientists and meteorologists are “very nervous” about this unprecedented cocktail will impact on weather patterns.

“Aid agencies are very worried. It’s hard to predict where the disaster will strike but if you put the system under this amount of stress then you are likely to have bigger problems.

“We’re seeing weather system stress like we’ve never seen before.

“Looking at the Tropics, the patterns of sea surface temperatures - I’ve never seen anything like it.

“We know the tropical oceans drive the world’s weather and we’ve never seen them in this state before.”