Japan's weather bureau said on Friday there was a 90% chance that the El Nino phenomenon will dissipate by the end of May, while there was a 60% chance of the La Nina phenomenon occurring in the months up until November.

El Nino is a warming of ocean surface temperatures in the eastern and central Pacific. La Nina is characterised by unusually cold ocean temperatures in the equatorial Pacific region and is linked to floods and drought. (Reporting by Kantaro Komiya; Editing by Christopher Cushing)