China is likely to see severe climate disasters like floods or droughts in 2016 due to the worst El Nino phenomenon on record in the 20th century.

The National Climate Center forecasts that the current El Nino will gradually decay and end in May, but its impact may still linger for quite some time.

The climate authority says historical data shows that severe floods are very likely to occur in China's Yangtze river basin the year immediately following the El Nino phenomenon, suggesting that China may face strong flood threats in the area this year.

The current El Nino conditions, which feature high ocean temperatures across central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, came into force in September 2014, peaked during the past winter and continued into February.

It was worse than the previous two occurred in 1982 and 1997, in terms of duration, intensity and peak strength.

The current El Nino has caused extreme weather including heat waves, droughts and floods in many parts of the world.