Honduras places 80% of country on El Niño drought alert
The Honduran government on Wednesday placed 80% of the country, including the capital, on drought alert as El Niño scorches harvests and causes livestock to die of thirst.
Honduras has placed 80% of the country, including its capital city Tegucigalpa, on a drought alert as the El Niño weather pattern intensifies, according to the Honduran government. El Niño, a warming of surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, triggers widespread changes in global weather patterns, including warmer temperatures and altered rainfall. This year's El Niño is predicted to be one of the strongest on record, threatening food security across Honduras.
The government's measures, covering 234 of 298 municipalities, aim to address low reservoir levels, crop losses, and livestock deaths that have turned critical. A cattle rancher from one of the affected areas stated that cattle have already died, and the remaining cattle are emaciated. The capital city, Tegucigalpa, with a population of 1.7 million, is among the 75 areas designated as being at maximum risk.
Central America's arid strip, known as the Dry Corridor, which spans parts of Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua, has been the most severely affected. Honduran President Nasry Asfura announced a series of emergency measures, including drilling new wells, constructing reservoirs, and providing food to the most critical areas. The crisis is expected to persist until March or April next year.
The United Nations World Food Programme estimated that Central America is likely to be the region worst affected by hunger exacerbated by El Niño. In July, some 110 million people experienced the hottest month on record across Mexico, northern Brazil, the Pacific coast, and the Guiana Shield on the north coast of South America.
Several Central American countries, including El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Honduras, experienced their highest temperature records in both June and July, heightening concerns over potential famine. The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that El Niño is "adding fuel to a planet already on fire" and pushing the world into uncharted territory.
Written by urgent.news from Phys.org's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
