Forecasters say a potentially “super” El Nino is rapidly taking shape in the Pacific — but whether it evolves into a history-making event could hinge on fickle winds and other volatile atmospheric shifts. The fast-warming tropical Pacific is pointing to a major event but a crucial weakening of trade winds — capable of turbocharging or throttling the phenomenon — has yet to materialise. Scientists say these interactions are notoriously complex and difficult to predict — making it too early to confidently forecast how powerful this El Nino could become. Flashing red The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said there is about an 80 per cent chance of El Nino developing by July. Sea temperatures in key El Nino zones of the equatorial Pacific are rapidly rising, and an enormous pool of abnormally warm water is massing beneath the surface. Several leading weather services are predicting Pacific sea temperatures could surge 2.5 degrees Celsius or more above average...
Crowds in Bangladesh are flocking to snap photographs with an unlikely social media star — an albino buffalo with flowing blond hair nicknamed “Donald Trump” due to be sacrificed within days. Owner Zia Uddin Mridha, 38, said his brother named the 700 kilogramme bull over its flowing helmet of hair resembling the signature look of the US president. “My younger brother picked this name because of the buffalo’s extraordinary hair,” he told AFP at his farm in Narayanganj, just outside the capital Dhaka. Mridha said a constant stream of curious visitors — social media fans, onlookers and children — have come throughout May, eager to see the internet sensation. He watched as men poured a cool bucket of water over the bull’s head, running a pink brush through its blond combover, neatly tucked between sweeping curved horns. “The only luxury he enjoys is bathing four times a day,” Mridha said, stressing that the similarities between the bull and the president stopped at the hair. Officia...