El Nino

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.

Cenaos forecasters say the canícula — a mid-summer lull within the rainy season — combined with moderate El Niño conditions will reduce, but not eliminate, rainfall across Honduras from around July 15 to August 15, with high temperatures and only scattered light showers expected.

Climate experts warn that El Niño strengthening could prolong the dry season (canícula) from its usual six weeks to 45–60 days, reducing rainfall by 40–60% and straining water supplies, agriculture, and hydroelectric power across Honduras, with Tegucigalpa's reservoirs at critical levels.

Authorities are considering upgrading drought alerts from green to yellow for 75 municipalities in the Dry Corridor and possibly adding 40 more, as recent rains have failed to reverse critical water deficits affecting drinking water, agriculture, and forest-fire risk.

Honduras's National Center for Atmospheric, Oceanographic and Seismic Studies (Cenaos) says dry conditions will dominate the coming days with no significant weather system bringing heavy rain, offering relief to regions like Olancho and Gracias a Dios that recently suffered flooding.

The Agriculture Ministry announced a L140-million investment (about $5.6 million USD) to rehabilitate irrigation districts across Honduras, aiming to improve water efficiency, strengthen farm production, and help farmers withstand droughts and climate variability.

The World Meteorological Organization projects a rapid shift to strong El Niño conditions from July through September 2026, bringing above-normal temperatures and irregular rainfall that officials warn could trigger drought stress on crops, water supplies, and energy demand in vulnerable southern and western departments.

A regional assessment projects that 25,500 people in the border department of Ocotepeque could face severe food insecurity between July and October 2026 as corn and bean reserves deplete, prices rise, and El Niño threatens drought across Central America's dry corridor.

A grain producer warns that an extended dry season from mid-July through early October, driven by climate change and El Niño, could reduce maize and bean output by roughly two million quintals (about 90,000 metric tons) in the dry corridor, deepening food insecurity for subsistence farming families.

Agricultural leaders recommend Honduran smallholder farmers postpone planting until at least September due to a prolonged dry season and a forecast 40% rainfall deficit linked to a strong El Niño pattern, which threatens six drought-vulnerable departments.

Honduras's largest power plant, El Cajón, which supplies about 30% of the nation's electricity, is at risk of forced shutdowns due to aging equipment past its useful life and delays in purchasing critical replacement parts, engineers warn.

A forestry engineer warns that El Niño arriving earlier than usual from June through September will reduce water supplies for drinking and power generation, harm planting of beans and corn, and increase wildfire risk across Honduras.

Honduras's weather agency warns that El Niño, confirmed by NOAA, could extend into early 2027 and cause a prolonged dry season with rainfall deficits exceeding 40% in parts of the country, threatening corn and bean production and food prices in vulnerable regions.

Honduras's atmospheric agency confirmed the onset of an extreme El Niño phase, potentially bringing prolonged drought, high temperatures, and water scarcity that could affect agriculture, livestock, hydroelectric power, and drinking water for millions of Hondurans over the next year.

Agriculture Minister Moisés Molina warned that Honduras faces a prolonged dry season exceeding two months due to El Niño, threatening grain production and food security, though the government has allocated 1.5 billion lempiras in production incentives and will provide technical support to farmers.

Honduras's congressional environment committee is drafting a climate-change law that would establish regulatory standards to help the country mitigate effects of El Niño, drought, and other climate impacts on infrastructure and production.

Tegucigalpa's mayor warned that the capital's water shortage will persist as reservoirs remain critically low — La Concepción at 42% and Los Laureles at 33% — with relief not expected until a new dam, set to serve 350,000 people, is completed in early 2028.

Honduras's emergency agency Copeco widened its drought alert from 60 to 75 municipalities across six departments, warning that El Niño conditions could extend dry spells for weeks and are already straining water supplies and threatening crops and livestock in the dry corridor.

Honduran experts warn that extreme temperatures above 42°C are spreading dengue and other mosquito-borne diseases into previously cool regions, driving a kidney-failure crisis in the south, and destroying crops that put 1.7 million people at risk of food insecurity.

Honduras's National Risk and Contingency Secretariat will analyze 75 municipalities in the Dry Corridor already under alert due to El Niño-linked low rainfall, evaluating whether to adjust or expand warnings as the critical rainy months approach.