Panama Declares Emergency Over El Niño

Panama on Tuesday became the latest Central American country, after Honduras and El Salvador, to declare an emergency over the El Niño climate phenomenon, which has already forced a reduction in shipping through the Panama Canal. Panama's Interior Minister Dinoska Montalvo said the declaration will allow authorities to "be prepared for what may come with El Niño," which has fueled a severe drought that is ravaging harvests, sparking fears of famine.

El Salvador on Maximum Alert

Meanwhile, El Salvador declared a state of maximum alert on Tuesday to activate monitoring, surveillance, and aid efforts for affected communities. "We are declaring a red alert for meteorological and farming drought across the national territory," the Civil Protection department wrote on X.

Understanding El Niño

El Niño is a weather pattern that raises surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, generating global changes in winds and rainfall as well as erratic weather conditions. It is also nudging up global temperatures in a year predicted to be the hottest on record. El Niño occurs on average every two to seven years, but this year's is shaping up as the most intense in recent years.

Regional Impact

Central America is in the throes of a severe drought that has already prompted Honduras to place 80 percent of its territory on alert and caused the Panama Canal to cut shipping traffic because of its dwindling water levels. In El Salvador, the lack of rain, which is usually abundant at this time of year, has wiped out crops. The agriculture ministry has announced food assistance for rural families that do not have irrigation systems.

Several municipalities in El Salvador are located in the Central American Dry Corridor, an arid strip that also includes parts of Honduras and Nicaragua, which is vulnerable to extreme weather events. All three countries broke monthly temperature records in both June and July, exacerbating famine concerns. In August, 14 temperature records have been smashed in El Salvador.

Peru Also Affected

Last week, Peru declared a state of emergency in a third of its cities over El Niño, highlighting the widespread impact of the phenomenon across the region.