Honduras Environment News

An Oxfam assessment found El Niño-driven drought wiped out maize crops for more than 70,000 farming households across Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, with 78.6% losing 75–100% of their harvest, 23,000 households losing water access, and over 6,200 migration movements recorded.

As prolonged drought threatens corn and bean crops across Honduras, agricultural experts recommend farmers base planting decisions on current climate data and monitor rainfall and temperature forecasts before proceeding.

A severe drought in Guajiquiro, La Paz, has destroyed corn and bean crops for approximately 1,500 farming families across 44 communities, threatening food security and forcing residents to seek alternative income while the municipality requests 4.5 million lempiras monthly (about $180,000) in government assistance.

Jeannette Kawas, the Tela activist murdered in 1995 for opposing illegal development of the Punta Sal peninsula, is remembered through the national park bearing her name—though no one has been arrested for her killing despite a 2009 Inter-American Court ruling against Honduras for negligence.

A severe drought in Caridad, Valle, has wiped out up to 100% of some harvests and depleted water supplies, affecting about 800 farmers, with the mayor warning that reduced local production could drive up food prices as dependence on outside sources grows.

The Guacerique River, a major tributary supplying the Los Laureles Dam reservoir, has dramatically diminished due to severe drought, raising concerns about water availability for residents across the region.

Two owls—a Barred Owl raised from a chick and a Horned Owl rescued after injury—have been released into the Carias Bermúdez protected forest in Comayagua after months of veterinary care and rehabilitation by the military's ecosystem unit and the Forest Conservation Institute.

A proposal by National Congress member Carlos Cano would create a pilot program to protect Olancho's forests and water resources while generating up to 345 forestry jobs through fire prevention, forest management, and restoration work, funded by a planned L168 million (about $6.7 million) budget from multiple sources.

President Nasry Asfura announced government funding for special geomembranes to improve water-reservoir storage in municipalities and expanded food assistance to 60,000–84,000 drought-affected families, with school meals reaching 115,000 students.

Gabriela Castellanos, executive director of the National Anti-Corruption Council, criticized the government's handling of a drought affecting dozens of Honduran municipalities, calling it "political negligence" and warning that state efforts remain insufficient for a structural crisis.

As severe drought depletes Tegucigalpa's reservoirs, about 30% of the capital's population lacking connection to the public water system are forced to buy water from unregulated tanker vendors at prices up to 50 times higher than piped rates, straining poor households.

The Agriculture Ministry is evaluating silver iodide cloud seeding with private companies and international partners to stimulate rainfall across drought-affected areas including the dry corridor and Tegucigalpa over the next two months.

A near-total lunar eclipse reaching 93% coverage will turn the moon red across Honduras on the night of August 27, peaking at 10:12 PM, with free public viewing at Ciudad Universitaria in Tegucigalpa hosted by the FACES faculty.

Farmers in Sabanagrande, Francisco Morazán, are turning to hydroponic farming to maintain food production and cope with water scarcity amid climate variability.

The mayor of San Miguelito in Francisco Morazán reports that severe drought has destroyed all crops and forced farmers to sell cattle at half their normal price, with no rain since May and water sources running dry.

After ten months of severe drought, 2,700 families in Apacilgua have lost crops and livestock, yet the Agriculture Ministry characterizes the crisis as a structural problem rather than an emergency requiring immediate aid.

Farmers and livestock producers in Yoro have lost an estimated 150 million lempiras (about $6 million) to drought, with corn crops failing, milk production down 40%, and cattle herds shrinking as pasture vanishes and rural employment collapses.

Trash and construction waste accumulating near the Los Laureles reservoir on the Guacerique River, which supplies water to Honduras's capital, are raising concerns about contamination if rains carry the debris into drainage and waterways.

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.

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.

The near-threatened white bat (Ectophylla alba), a thumb-sized mammal found in Honduras's Mosquitia rainforests, constructs tent-like shelters from Heliconia leaves and faces threats from deforestation and habitat loss.

Twenty-six government and international agencies convened to develop strategies for managing sargassum affecting the Bay Islands' coasts, exploring uses such as fertilizer and biofuel while Roatán faces cleanup costs of roughly L1 million every 15 days, with Germany and Portugal offering up to €20 million in support.

Roatán's municipal government is collecting discarded appliances and electronics on August 20–21 to keep hazardous materials out of the landfill, with free pickup available for large items via WhatsApp.

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.

HonduHerp, a nonprofit founded in 2023 by Honduran and US scientists, protects reptile and amphibian species through land conservation, community education, and research, including a 30-hectare cloud-forest reserve in Copán that shelters the jade pit viper, a venomous species whose presence signals healthy forest ecosystems.

Environmentalists warn that water production from San Pedro Sula's Sunseri aquifer has plummeted 75% since wells were drilled in 1987, and a congresswoman is pushing legislation to protect the zone as a multi-use area and create a Metropolitan Park to safeguard the city's groundwater system.

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.