Drought

A bark beetle pest has damaged 296.89 hectares of pine forest across Honduras in 2026, with drought and high temperatures weakening trees and fueling rapid spread, particularly in Yoro, Lempira, and El Paraíso departments.

La Libertad municipality declared a red alert after severe drought wiped out the first-season crop, destroying about 25,000 quintals (roughly 1,100 metric tons) of corn and beans and killing 300 head of cattle, leaving over 1,000 farmers and about 1,500 families facing food insecurity.

A severe drought has wiped out 100% of grain and vegetable crops in Alubarén, Francisco Morazán, leaving 1,800 farming families facing food and water shortages as municipal authorities seek emergency aid and warn conditions could trigger a red alert.

Honduras's shrimp producers face mounting losses from drought-driven higher salinity in ponds, production costs up 15–18%, and depressed international prices worsened by Ecuadorian oversupply, threatening employment in the southern region.

The emergency agency Copeco has placed 75 municipalities under yellow alert and 48 under green alert due to drought conditions worsened by the dry season, with about one million people facing direct effects including crop losses and water shortages.

The Tegucigalpa municipal government found two water veins at approximately 110 feet depth in the Nave Carías sector, with preliminary estimates suggesting 100–110 gallons per minute that could supply about 10 tanker trucks daily to over 300 families amid the city's ongoing water crisis.

A severe drought linked to El Niño has killed over 200 cattle, wiped out grain harvests, and significantly reduced milk and meat production in major farming regions, with grain losses estimated at 2–3 million quintals (about 90,000–135,000 metric tons) of corn and beans.

Red beans jumped 5 lempiras to 110–116 lempiras per measure at Tegucigalpa's Feria del Estadio market this week, with producers warning of further increases in about three weeks as the new harvest arrives; onions, beets, corn, pataste (chayote squash), and cauliflower also rose due to low supply from prolonged dry weather.

A prolonged drought in San Antonio de Flores, Choluteca, has killed more than 100 cattle since February and forced small ranchers to sell hundreds more as authorities declared a yellow alert and the mayor requested expanded government aid.

Low rainfall in Lepaterique's highlands has reduced water flowing into Los Laureles reservoir to 32.4% capacity, threatening Tegucigalpa's water supply as the Guacerique River—which feeds about 25% of the capital's demand—sees diminished flows.

Honduras's atmospheric authority warns that rainfall expected in August will fall short of levels needed to restore soil moisture for agricultural planting, particularly in vulnerable regions.

A prolonged drought in Soledad, El Paraíso, has destroyed crops twice since April, leaving 4,000–5,000 residents at risk of food insecurity and prompting the mayor to seek emergency humanitarian aid.

Congressman Hugo Noé Pino of the Libre party warned that the El Niño drought's damage to food production will push inflation above 5% in the second half of 2026, and called for contingency plans to protect food security in hardest-hit regions.

The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization warns that 150,839 agricultural households—mostly in drought-stricken regions including Santa Bárbara, Choluteca, and Lempira, plus flood-prone Cortés—will need emergency aid this year due to droughts, floods, lost crops, and livestock disease.

The agricultural marketing institute reports Honduras holds 120,000 quintals (about 5,400 metric tons) of beans in reserve and rules out imports for now, citing adequate stocks and new harvests expected within 45 days from multiple regions despite ongoing dry conditions.

Climate experts say El Niño will intensify between October and November, bringing little relief to Honduras's drought-stricken dry corridor, where farmers report near-total crop losses and warn the crisis will persist for decades without adaptation measures.

Facing prolonged drought that is shrinking reservoir levels, Tegucigalpa's mayor Juan Diego Zelaya announced that water-rationing cycles will widen from every 7 days to every 9 days starting next week, aiming to stretch supplies until September rains begin.

Honduras's government will provide emergency food aid to approximately 40,000 families affected by drought in the southern region, and also plans infrastructure repairs and water projects to address longer-term effects of the dry spell.

A trough on Friday and an incoming tropical wave on Saturday will bring scattered to moderate rain to most of Honduras through Sunday, with daytime temperatures reaching 38°C (100°F) in the south, though forecasters say the rainfall will not relieve the ongoing drought affecting 75 municipalities.

The National Autonomous University of Honduras warns that rainfall could drop 30–40% below average starting in October across the Dry Corridor, the south, and Tegucigalpa as El Niño strengthens, threatening water supplies and the autumn harvest.

Vendors at the Feria del Agricultor are absorbing a recent L2-per-pound cost rise to keep beef prices stable, though drought threatening cattle feed may force adjustments in coming weeks.

Drought linked to El Niño has pushed Honduras's disaster agency (COPECO) to place 75 municipalities in the dry corridor under indefinite yellow alert, while 49 remain on green alert and 113 are under monitoring for reduced rainfall across six departments.

An integrated food-security analysis projects that 157,000 people across Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala in the Rio Lempa border region will face acute hunger from July through October 2026, driven by seasonal grain depletion, inflation, and El Niño drought risk.

Congress unanimously approved a measure requiring the emergency agency Copeco, the Agriculture Ministry, and the municipal association Amhon to report within two weeks on drought conditions affecting 75 municipalities in the Dry Corridor, where El Niño has cut rainfall by half.

Honduras is spending 62 million lempiras (roughly $2.5 million) to aid 75 municipalities hit by El Niño-driven drought, with 38 facing the highest food-security risks and receiving priority support for water, food, health care, and irrigation.

Honduras's emergency agency raised drought alerts across 237 of the country's 298 municipalities due to reduced rainfall linked to El Niño, with 75 municipalities in the dry corridor placed under yellow alert indefinitely.

Over 30,000 sacks of food worth 4,000 lempiras (about $154) per household are being distributed across 12 municipalities in Honduras's dry corridor to 15,229 families who lost crops to drought.

A tropical wave moving across Honduras on Monday will bring scattered showers up to 20 millimeters in the eastern and central mountain regions, but El Niño conditions will limit relief from the ongoing water deficit.

Tegucigalpa is experiencing its driest summer in ten years, with critical water-supply levels prompting UMAPS to implement emergency measures including well drilling, water-truck distribution, rationing, and waste reduction.

Over 15,000 families in Choluteca and El Paraíso departments are receiving food rations of about 160 lb (about 72 kg) valued at L3,000–L4,000 (about $120–$160) each as emergency drought relief, with 900 sacks distributed daily from COPECO facilities.