El Nino

Honduras is using cloud seeding to combat a devastating drought in Central America's Dry Corridor, intensified by El Niño and climate change, as the region seeks emergency measures to restore rainfall and protect crops.

The US Embassy delivered water-storage tanks to 85 schools in Honduras's drought-stricken Dry Corridor region, aimed at improving water access as El Niño conditions persist.

South Korea will provide $500,000 in humanitarian assistance to Honduras to help communities affected by El Niño-driven drought that has left about 620,000 people in severe food insecurity.

South Korea will provide $500,000 in humanitarian aid to Honduras to support communities devastated by an El Niño-driven drought that has left about 620,000 people facing severe food insecurity, particularly in the southern dry corridor.

The UN warns that El Niño will reach peak intensity in December 2026, but Honduras is already experiencing severe drought that is damaging maize and bean harvests and threatening food security for over 538,000 people, according to the FAO and UN agencies.

Climate expert César Quintanilla warns that strong upper-level winds and El Niño conditions are suppressing hurricane formation in the Atlantic, though Honduras will still see rainfall from tropical waves through October and drier conditions by November.

Honduras's banking regulator approved temporary relief measures for over 40,000 agricultural debtors affected by El Niño drought, including loan restructuring, grace periods, reduced interest rates, and waived penalties, with applications due by February 28, 2027.

El Niño is warming Atlantic waters and suppressing tropical cyclone development, with forecasters expecting only about 7 hurricanes in 2026 compared to a typical season's 15, though October and November remain the wettest and most active months for Honduras.

The Honduran business council reported food and beverage inflation of 5.57% in August, citing drought conditions from El Niño and higher transport costs, while overall inflation reached 6.20% and private-sector credit grew 20% through June.

Intensifying Super El Niño conditions in the Pacific are driving increased moisture and tropical wave activity toward Honduras, with forecasters predicting rainfall totals of 80–150 millimeters across different regions over the next eight days.

A US humanitarian adviser visited El Triunfo, Choluteca, to review food, water, sanitation, and health programs financed by the Regional Humanitarian Fund for Latin America and the Caribbean to aid Honduran communities affected by El Niño.

Tegucigalpa's mayor said the capital faces a critical water shortage lasting up to 15 months due to 2026 being the driest year on record, and authorities are reactivating 41 wells and maintaining 12-day rationing cycles to supply neighborhoods, hospitals, and schools.

Pediatricians in public hospitals are treating children under five with marasmus and kwashiorkor, severe acute malnutrition conditions not seen at these levels in decades, a direct result of four months of extreme drought triggered by the 'super El Niño' phenomenon.

Finance Secretary Emilio Hércules presented the 2027 budget of 455.4 billion lempiras (about $18.2 billion), with 84% funded from domestic revenue and priorities including 8.6 billion for infrastructure, 8.7 billion for health, increased municipal transfers, and support for agriculture amid El Niño drought concerns.

An extreme El Niño event could reduce Latin America and the Caribbean's GDP by at least 2 percent, according to the UN economic commission for the region (CEPAL).

The Atlantic basin has produced five tropical storms but zero hurricanes through mid-September 2026—well below the typical four hurricanes by this date—as strengthening El Niño conditions in the Pacific suppress Atlantic storm development.

An Oxfam report on the dry corridor spanning El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras warns that El Niño-linked drought has slashed grain harvests, killed livestock, reduced water access, and forced families to buy expensive food, hitting rural women and children hardest and raising malnutrition risk.

Former ENEE general manager Salomón Ordóñez warns that Honduras's largest hydroelectric reservoir has lost 50% of its generating capacity due to drought, with power-sector reform results expected in two to three years.

Guatemala's vice president ordered a red alert for the Trifinio border region shared with Honduras and El Salvador, as El Niño–driven drought threatens corn and bean crops, rural employment, and food security across the three-country zone.

Honduras and the UN World Food Programme agreed on coordinated action to address El Niño-driven drought in 103 municipalities under red alert, including cash transfers, school feeding expansion for over one million children, and direct support to smallholder farmers.

Lena Savelli, the World Food Programme's regional director, arrived in Honduras to evaluate the drought damage caused by the El Niño climate phenomenon and assess food-security needs.

The World Food Programme's regional director will visit Honduras this week to meet with President Asfura and assess the impact of an El Niño-driven drought affecting 103 municipalities, particularly in the Dry Corridor, where the government has declared a water emergency.

The El Niño phenomenon is intensifying and could raise Pacific temperatures 3–4 °C above normal from October through December, with Cenaos director Francisco Argeñal warning of potentially record-breaking warming that could exceed the historical maximum of 2.7 °C.

Seventy-five Honduran municipalities in red alert for severe drought requested early disbursement of August and September government transfers, with 63 of them already receiving early payments to address the El Niño-driven emergency.

Honduras's disaster agency Copeco has begun delivering food packages valued at 4,000 lempiras (about $160) each, plus medicines, to drought-stricken municipalities in Choluteca and El Paraíso, backed by a 300-million-lempira (about $12 million) budget, with cash transfers planned for up to 15 of the 75 municipalities identified as most severely affected.

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.

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.

Severe drought in southern Honduras has dried wells and rivers, destroyed crops, and reduced livestock productivity; the UN World Food Programme estimates that at least 500,000 more Hondurans could face food insecurity this year due to the dry spell and El Niño effects.

A national water shortage driven by El Niño has cut rainfall in Tegucigalpa by 43%, prompting authorities to ration tap water to residents every 12 days and renew calls for dams, reforestation, and groundwater restrictions to address Honduras's chronic pattern of climate-crisis reactions.

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.