El Salvador declares red alert over El Nino drought

El Salvador declared a nationwide red alert on Tuesday, August 25, for meteorological and agricultural drought linked by authorities to El Nino, saying the dry conditions had caused crop losses.

The Civil Protection department said the measure covers the whole country and activates monitoring, surveillance and aid efforts for affected communities. Authorities said a lack of rain during what is usually a wet period had damaged crops, and the agriculture ministry announced food assistance for rural families without irrigation systems.

El Nino is a periodic warming of surface waters in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific that can alter winds and rainfall and bring erratic weather.

Several municipalities in El Salvador are in the Central American Dry Corridor, an arid strip that also includes parts of Honduras and Nicaragua and is vulnerable to extreme weather. Honduras has placed 80 percent of its territory on alert, while low water levels have led the Panama Canal to reduce shipping traffic.

El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua broke monthly temperature records in June and July, and El Salvador has broken 14 temperature records so far in August. Peru last week declared a state of emergency in a third of its cities over El Nino, saying intense heat and rain could disrupt food production.