The El Nino weather system is a phenomenon that keenly affects the entire planet. Experts say this year’s El Nino effect is stronger than usual and will likely break all previous records for causing bad weather.

Floods in South America have driven 150,000 from their homes. In Colombia, more than a third of the country’s provinces have been declared a national disaster following a wave of forest fires. Across the globe, in Australia, intense storms have battered the Sidney area.

All driven by a stronger than usual El Nino weather system, which can have unexpected effects. In the U.S., floods have pounded the central part of the country. Meanwhile, heavy snow in the West may bring much-needed drought relief.

Even the North Pole is feeling the consequences of El Nino as temperatures have risen above freezing in recent weeks. This year’s El Nino is shaping up to be one of the most severe on record.

Images from U.S. space agency NASA show this year’s El Nino and the record-breaking 1997 El Nino are very similar.

But the current system may be more dangerous as global climate change has made areas like Ethiopia more vulnerable. El Nino has brought drought to the Horn of Africa. The Chinese government is assisting in relief efforts, delivering grain and other emergency supplies. Aid organizations are calling for more help.

The system is expected to remain in place into the spring, which means more people may need more help for months to come.