France, Sept. 12 -- In Peru, unusually warm waters have driven anchovies away from the coast, leaving fishing boats idle and threatening thousands of jobs.

Across parts of Central America, drought has destroyed maize and bean crops on which rural families depend - examples of the growing disruption as El Nino gathers strength.

El Nino occurs when a large part of the tropical Pacific becomes unusually warm, changing winds, rainfall and temperatures far beyond the ocean itself. It appears every two to seven years and alternates with the cooler La Nina phase.

The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), the United Nations weather agency, said this month that El Nino was firmly established and would intensify into a very strong event in th...