The Bureau of Meteorology has formally declared an El Niño weather event, meaning one is underway for the first time since 2023.The major climate events impact the weather patterns of 60 per cent of the globe, and Australia is particularly vulnerable.To help make sense of this, ABC News Breakfast meteorologist Nate Byrne and the Climate Council's Andrew Watkins will join us on the blog to answer some of your questions about El Niño.Join us live.Do we assume we're facing droughts over the next few years?— MohamedHi Mohamed,Thanks for sending through your question! Here's Climate Council's Andrew Watkins with a response:El Niño usually brings lower rainfall and higher temperatures/drier air to Australia, the key ingredients for drought That's where things get really dangerous for Australia — multiple winters of low rainfall and warmer temperatures can significantly elevate the summer bushfire and drought risk.It can also reduce activity in the tropics later in the year (we typically end up with fewer cyclones than the average), and it can delay the onset of the northern wet season.The tricky thing is that no two El Niño events are the same — the weather is still the unknown variable with this climate push, and it just takes one wayward cyclone, deep cold front, or east coast low to change our fortunes significantly