Japan's Meteorological Agency said the El Nino pattern disrupting South America and Asia's climate has strengthened to its strongest level on record. According to Sina Finance, the agency said the event could trigger widespread economic disruption, with effects likely to persist long after it fades.

The agency said on Friday that as of September, sea surface temperatures in parts of the tropical Pacific it monitors were 4 degrees Celsius above normal, the highest since records began in 1949. The previous record was set in December 1997, when temperatures were 3.7 degrees Celsius above normal.

El Nino has already disrupted global weather patterns. According to Sina Finance, it has weakened India's monsoon to its lowest level in more than a decade, worsened fires in Indonesia, sent toxic smoke into Singapore and Malaysia, and threatened Brazil's sugar and coffee output.

The World Meteorological Organization said in its latest seasonal forecast a day before the Japanese agency's outlook that this El Nino could become the strongest on record. According to Sina Finance, Japan's Meteorological Agency forecast a 100% chance that El Nino will last through the Northern Hemisphere winter, matching the U.S. Climate Prediction Center's view that it will continue through January to March.