Drought

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.

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.

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.

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.