Browse Honduras Daily Stories

Honduras has completed 18 of 20 planned cloud-seeding flights over nine drought-affected departments, with results to be assessed once the final two flights — pending suitable weather — are done.

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.

Honduras has completed 10 of 20 planned flights to seed clouds with silver iodide across eight drought-stricken departments, covering 1.8 to 2.3 million hectares, as officials evaluate whether the intervention is increasing rainfall.

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.

The Los Laureles and La Concepción dams that supply Tegucigalpa hold just 27.48% and 24.67% of capacity respectively as of September 24, keeping water rationing in effect across the capital with service cycles reaching up to 12 days.

The United Nations has activated an urgent response to a prolonged drought affecting 103 municipalities across Honduras's Dry Corridor, threatening food security and agricultural production as crop losses mount.

A severe drought has destroyed maize and bean harvests for about 2,000 farming families in Cantarranas, Francisco Morazán, prompting the mayor to seek emergency aid from the government as farmers fear losing the fall planting season as well.

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.

Tropical Wave 38 is forecast to reach Honduras on Wednesday, potentially ending a recent dry spell and bringing relief to a country facing drought conditions that have stressed water availability and crops.

UMAPS, which supplies Tegucigalpa, is monitoring reservoir levels at 28.6% and 26.2% capacity and may expand water rationing over the coming days depending on rainfall and how quickly reserves continue to drop.

Severe drought in southern Lempira has destroyed corn crops and dried the Chayel River after only two storms in 2026, forcing farmers to sell livestock prematurely and threatening food security across the region.

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.

Southern Honduras's shrimp industry faces over 30% mortality and potential losses of at least $25 million due to severe drought and below-normal rainfall, with 8,000–9,000 jobs at risk in the next six to eight months.

A severe drought affecting 75 municipalities in Honduras is raising water costs, causing child hospitalizations from poor sanitation, endangering food security for 2.2 million people, and threatening to force schools into virtual education.

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.

At least 80% of Honduras's municipalities are under some level of drought alert, with southern municipalities most severely affected, according to data analysis by Consulting HNL.

Agriculture Minister Moisés Molina ruled out a famine despite what he called the worst drought on record hitting 75 municipalities, saying Honduras has sufficient food stocks and future grain contracts, even as local mayors report total crop losses and hundreds of cattle deaths.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.