Unusually dry weather in parts of Southeast Asia in recent weeks has raised the prospect that food crops across the region could be severely harmed this summer by the return of the El Niño weather phenomenon. Countries in this region are among the top global producers of a range of agricultural commodities from coffee to rubber. If prolonged dry weather sets in, their crop output will likely be reduced, potentially hitting raw-material costs for a myriad of industries from food to tires. A growing number of weather forecasters, including the official U.S., Australian and Japanese weather bureaus, have confirmed that the El Niño weather pattern will return this year after a near five-year absence, although its likely duration and intensity is as yet unclear. El Niño is typified by a warming of the central and eastern Pacific Ocean and a cooling of its western region. That leads to a […]