Honduras places 80% of country on El Nino drought alert

Honduras has declared drought alerts for 80% of the country, including its capital Tegucigalpa, due to the strong El Nino weather pattern scorching harvests and causing livestock deaths. El Nino, a warming of central and eastern Pacific Ocean surface temperatures, triggers worldwide changes in wind patterns, rainfall, and overall global temperatures.

This year's El Nino is expected to be one of the strongest on record, leading Honduras' government to cover 234 of its 298 municipalities under drought alert due to low reservoir levels, crop losses, and livestock mortality. Cattle rancher Francisco Euceda from one of the affected municipalities described the situation as critical, with thin cattle and discouraging forecasts.

Tegucigalpa, home to 1.7 million people, tops the list of 75 areas under red alert, meaning maximum risk. The crisis is expected to persist until March or April next year. Honduran President Nasry Asfura announced emergency measures, including drilling new wells, constructing reservoirs, and delivering food to critical areas. The UN World Food Programme warned that Central America would be the region worst affected by hunger exacerbated by El Nino, with some 110 million people experiencing the hottest July on record across Mexico, Brazil, and the Pacific coast.

El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Honduras all broke their monthly temperature records in June and July, heightening famine fears. Recently, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres cautioned that El Nino was adding fuel to a planet already on fire, pushing the world into uncharted territory. Peru declared a state of emergency in a third of its cities due to El Nino, predicting intense heat and rain could disrupt food production. El Nino has also worsened one of Indonesia's worst wildfire seasons in recent years.