Drought

At least 80% of Honduras's municipalities are under some level of drought alert, with southern municipalities most severely affected, according to data analysis by Consulting HNL.

The United Nations is committing $80 million to support Honduras in response to a severe drought affecting multiple regions, with funds directed to affected municipalities, early-action programs, safe-water access, and aid for small farmers.

Agriculture Minister Moisés Molina ruled out a famine despite what he called the worst drought on record hitting 75 municipalities, saying Honduras has sufficient food stocks and future grain contracts, even as local mayors report total crop losses and hundreds of cattle deaths.

Honduras's government declared a 120-day red alert for 75 municipalities hit by El Niño-driven drought, affecting over 134,000 families, and began distributing food aid while coordinating water access and agricultural protection measures.

A prolonged drought in Yoro has killed at least 400 head of cattle in the municipalities of Olanchito, Arenal, and Jocón, prompting a congressman to call for an emergency assessment by agricultural and disaster-response authorities.

Honduras's national disaster agency placed 75 municipalities on red alert, 71 on yellow alert, and 88 on green alert starting August 18 due to severe drought linked to the El Niño weather pattern.

A National Congress member from Yoro requested urgent intervention from the Agriculture Ministry to address severe drought in the Alto Aguán region of Olanchito, where lack of rainfall has depleted livestock feed and threatened cattle producers' livelihoods.

Farmers in Honduras's drought-stricken Dry Corridor region are facing near-total crop failure after planting, growing, and harvesting corn and beans in arid conditions, leaving many to borrow money and buy cheaper grain to survive until the fall planting season.

The municipality of Gualcinse, Lempira, declared an emergency due to prolonged drought and climate change, reporting losses of approximately 1,400 acres of corn, 520 of beans, livestock feed shortages, and an 80% drop in river water levels.

The Liberal mayor of Piraera, Lempira, says a drought has left 3,500 families facing food insecurity after crop losses and is requesting corn and beans from the Honduran government, threatening to appeal to El Salvador's president if aid is denied.

Through July 2026, 10 of 25 weather stations recorded their lowest rainfall since 2022, triggering food insecurity and water rationing across the dry corridor, with experts warning of crisis if rains fail in September and October.

Congress will hold an emergency session on August 19 with mayors from 75 municipalities under yellow alert to address crop losses, water shortages, and food-security risks, proposing immediate aid to farmers, potable water, food assistance, and investment mechanisms.

Tegucigalpa's water utility reports that 40% of water entering the distribution system is lost through damaged pipes, compounding the capital's severe drought crisis as authorities expand water rationing and develop new wells.

Tegucigalpa's two main reservoirs—La Concepción at 29.85% capacity and Los Laureles at 37.56%—remain at critically low levels due to lack of rainfall, prompting authorities to consider raising the alert level and pursue recovery of 11 wells to bolster water supply.

Seventy-five municipalities across Honduras face prolonged drought conditions, with 50 receiving emergency food aid; heavier rains are forecast to begin in early September, according to atmospheric satellite data.

Congresswoman Alejandra Burgos, president of Congress's Food Security Commission, reports that 2.2 million Hondurans are in food insecurity due to drought, with 60,000 at critical risk requiring urgent government intervention to prevent severe malnutrition.

Tegucigalpa's water authority has reduced service to once every nine days as reservoir levels approach critical thresholds and officials warn supplies could become critically low in coming weeks without rain.

The government will fund about 3,000 water-harvesting reservoirs nationwide, using geomembranes to store seasonal rainfall for livestock and irrigation during dry months, as drought has killed 300 cattle and cut milk output by 50% on unprepared farms.

Congress will convene a food security summit on August 18 to address a severe drought affecting 75 municipalities, aiming to build long-term legal and financial solutions for the crisis.

A Liberal congressman from Yoro has introduced a bill to establish a permanent climate-resilience fund for Honduras's farm and livestock sector, aimed at funding water infrastructure, emergency response, and productivity support amid prolonged drought and extreme weather affecting rural areas.

San Pedro Sula produces 80 million cubic meters of water annually, with 65% drawn from aquifers as surface sources dwindle; waste and unmeasured consumption threaten the city's long-term supply.

The mayor of San Buenaventura in Francisco Morazán has declared a food and water emergency, warning that about 2,000 residents face potential famine after roughly 700 farmers lost crops to prolonged drought.

The Choluteca River is flowing at dry-season levels despite Honduras being in its rainy season, suggesting insufficient rainfall in the mountains where its tributaries originate.

The capital's municipal risk office says Tegucigalpa could escalate to red-alert status for drought by late August if rainfall remains low, as main reservoirs serving the city drop to critical levels.

Tegucigalpa's mayor Juan Diego Zelaya declared a red alert as the capital's two main reservoirs dropped to critical levels—Los Laureles at 36% and Concepción at 29%—forcing water rationing to nine-day cycles and threatening food security and health across the region.

A severe drought in Reitoca, Francisco Morazán, has dried up local water sources, destroyed corn and bean crops, and forced the municipality to truck river water to communities; about 80% of the 8,000 residents depend on agricultural production and face food shortages and waterborne illness.

More than 600 farmers in Yoro are facing severe drought as rainfall has dropped sharply compared to 2025, with communities calling on the government for emergency assistance as grain supplies dwindle.

A severe drought across at least 30 communities in Yoro's Alto Aguán region has left livestock without food or water, forcing ranchers to buy fodder and haul water to keep herds alive while cattle die of starvation.

A weather trough combined with tropical wave 28 will increase rainfall across northern and western highland Honduras, while the south and centre remain dry with temperatures reaching 39°C.

A tropical wave will bring rain to western Honduras on Tuesday, August 11, but forecasters say the precipitation will be insufficient to relieve the water emergency affecting Tegucigalpa and other regions.