Freezing temperatures could sweep Britain next month as El Nino continues to wreak havoc worldwide

That timeline represents a significant shift from earlier predictions, which had placed the disruption around January 2027.

Nasa’s latest forecasting data paints a stark picture of rapidly declining wind speeds within the vortex.

Wind strength is projected to drop to 12.04 m/s (26.9 mph) by October 31, falling further to 9.15 m/s (20.5 mph) on November 1, before plummeting to just 4.15 m/s (9.3 mph) by November 3.

When the polar vortex is robust, it acts as a barrier, keeping the most extreme cold air locked around the North Pole.

Should it falter, however, the jet stream weakens, allowing brutal Arctic air to surge southward towards both North America and Europe.

The mechanism behind such a collapse is known as a sudden stratospheric warming event, which the Met Office says can actually reverse the direction of winds within the vortex.

“The stratospheric sudden warming can sometimes cause the jet stream to ‘snake’ more, and this tends to create a large area of blocking high pressure,” the forecaster said.

Such blocking patterns typically establish themselves over the North Atlantic and Scandinavia, according to experts.

The consequence for northern Europe, Britain included, would be an extended period of dry, cold conditions.

Southern parts of the continent, by contrast, would likely experience milder, wetter and windier weather.

Where these two zones meet, bitter easterly winds tend to develop, occasionally bringing significant snowfall — a pattern last seen during the memorable cold spell of early 2018.

Meteorologists caution, however, that individual sudden stratospheric warming events can only be forecast with confidence roughly a week beforehand.

Once such an event does occur, its effects on surface-level weather in the UK typically take several weeks to materialise.

The polar vortex is not the sole concern for the coming winter months, either.

The Met Office has warned that El Nino itself “is associated with increased risk of cold snaps.”

El Nino is a natural climate cycle originating in the tropical Pacific, driven by sea-surface temperatures rising well above their normal levels across the central and eastern portions of the ocean.

These warmer waters alter atmospheric circulation on a global scale, with consequences felt far from the Pacific itself.

This particular event has already contributed to the hottest summer ever recorded.

The Met Office has indicated that its influence will persist, with “far-reaching” consequences for weather patterns worldwide.

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