The United Nations is warning that El Nino is expected to develop within weeks, increasing the likelihood of extreme weather events across the globe and potentially driving temperatures even higher following an already record-hot spring, The Hill has reported.

The U.N.'s World Meteorological Organization said conditions are favorable for El Nino to emerge between now and July, with forecasters assigning a 90% probability that the climate phenomenon will take hold.

The agency also warned that the chances of a "super" or very strong El Nino are growing.

"The science is clear: El Nino is arriving on our doorstep in the coming months with 90% certainty," U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a video statement. "The world must treat it as the urgent climate warning it is."

The WMO said a strong El Nino could intensify weather patterns that scientists say have already become more severe due to climate change — including droughts, heavy rain, and heat waves.

"We need to prepare for a potentially strong El Nino event — which will exacerbate drought and heavy rainfall and increase the risk of heat waves both on land and in the ocean," WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said.

The warning comes as many regions around the world have experienced unusually high temperatures this spring. According to the WMO, above-average temperatures are expected across "nearly everywhere" between June and August, raising concerns that El Nino could further amplify global heat.

"El Nino conditions will pour fuel on the fire of a warming world," Guterres said. "Impacts will hit even harder, travel even farther, and cross borders with devastating speed."

The WMO said it will closely monitor Pacific Ocean conditions in the coming months and provide guidance to governments to help them prepare for potential weather-related disasters, according to The Hill.

El Nino is a naturally occurring climate pattern characterized by higher-than-average sea-surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. The phenomenon can significantly alter weather patterns around the world.

In the United States, a typical El Nino often brings warmer and drier winters to the northern portion of the country, while Southern states tend to experience cooler and wetter weather. When El Nino develops in the summer months, it can also contribute to elevated temperatures and increase the likelihood of heat waves.

Forecasters say a strong El Nino could also influence hurricane activity — potentially suppressing storms in the Atlantic Ocean while contributing to a more active tropical storm season in the eastern Pacific.

Climate experts caution, however, that the strength of an El Nino does not automatically determine the severity of its impacts.

"Stronger El Nino events do not ensure strong impacts; they can only make certain impacts more likely," the Climate Prediction Center said in a recent assessment.