The Permanent Contingency Commission (Copeco) of Honduras issued a red alert on Thursday for 140 municipalities due to a drought caused by the El Niño climatic phenomenon.
A yellow alert has been declared for 101 other municipalities out of the 298 in the Central American country.
“We are trying to take preventive actions so that necessary measures are taken to tackle the problem of food scarcity,” said Juan José Reyes, Copeco’s Early Warning Chief, during a press conference.
The phenomenon is expected to cause a shortage of rainfall, especially in June and July, affecting primarily the so-called dry corridor covering the central and southern parts of the country.
In anticipation of the expected drought, the Secretariat of Agriculture and Livestock (SAG) has been informing and discussing with farmers about the potential effects of the phenomenon.
In cities such as La Ceiba, Tela, and Progreso in the north of the country, a shortage of drinking water has been detected due to low levels of the main rivers, including the Cangrejal.
In Honduras, El Niño usually causes a more intense and prolonged dry season in the departments of Choluteca, Valle, El Paraíso, Francisco Morazán, La Paz, and Ocotepeque, and in the south of the departments of Comayagua, Intibucá, and Lempira.
This often results in droughts, especially from the end of June until the beginning of September.