The end... El Niño is over; La Niña to follow PHOTO

The Australian Bureau of Meteorology says the Pacific Ocean has "cooled significantly" in the past week. This natural episode, which began last June, brought warmer waters to the surface of the Pacific, adding extra heat to the atmosphere, the BBC reported, citing scientists' concerns that it is not possible to say with certainty what will happen next.

Namely, a series of recent global monthly high temperature records has led some scientists to fear that the world could enter a new phase of even faster climate change.

It is recalled that every few years, the onset of El Niño brings dramatic weather changes in many parts of the world.

A surge of warmer water coming to the surface off the coast of Peru in South America is associated with increased droughts and floods in various parts of the world and is marked by three distinct phases, hot El Niño, neutral conditions and a cooler period called La Niña.

This current El Niño was declared last June and peaked in December.

El Niño resulted in growing water temperatures in the Pacific which then contributed to global average temperatures being raised to new highs. March was even ten months in a row that broke the record.

"But now, perhaps faster than expected, El Niño has disappeared. The critical question is what will happen next, and scientists are divided on this," according to the BBC.

American researchers recently said there is a 60 percent chance of La Niña developing between June and August, and an 85 percent chance of it happening by fall. But the Australian bureau says such statements must be treated with caution. They expect neutral conditions to last at least until July.

The ensuing La Niña could have a significant impact on storms and hurricanes, and some experts predict that if La Niña does arrive early, it will herald a very active hurricane season in the Atlantic.

However, it is expected that the cooling effect of La Niña could possibly slow down the rate of global warming a little.