The environment secretary said: “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.”

Nous devrions en faire de même.

British people have been urged to have enough food and water on hand to survive a few days without power or water, as the UN said the El Niño climate phenomenon was “supersizing before our eyes”, exacerbating extreme weather events worldwide.

Forecasters say they are braced for the biggest El Niño in 1,000 years, bringing wildfires and floods to parts of the world, and the threat of a wet, stormy winter for the UK.

As the British government plans a campaign urging citizens to prepare for national emergencies, Angela Eagle told the Guardian the likelihood of a wild winter showed the importance of keeping supplies at home.

We are likely to have a 'wild' spring/summer ourselves. Look out for any vulnerable people you know, including yourselves.

I am angry that 35,000 people have died in Europe in their summer and we are likely to have massive fires and heatwaves here. Our politicians are selling our lives for cheap.