Honduras in state of emergency over El Nino

Honduras has put the impoverished Caribbean nation’s agriculture sector on highest alert over the latest oceanic warming phenomenon, El Nino.

The Honduran government declared a state of emergency amid fears of droughts and severe weather disturbances that might happen as a result of El Nino in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, which often stretches to some areas in Latin America.

The Honduran Council of Ministers allocated USD 600,000 in aid in order to help 7,000 agriculture producers in the country and harvest thousands of tons of beans and crops before they perish in the early heat wave taking over the region, Xinhua reported.

Honduran Vice President Samuel Reyes has said, “El Nino climate phenomenon is affecting some beans and other grains harvests, and it will impact the supply. The emergency declaration aims to avoid such a problem.”

He also added that the country needed to guarantee its agricultural supplies in order to avoid an uncontrolled hike in basic grain prices in the event of a severe El Nino problem.

El Nino is characterized by the warming of surface waters in the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean, which is associated with floods, droughts and other atmospheric disturbances in many regions of the world.

It usually affects developing countries dependent upon agriculture and fishing, particularly those bordering the Pacific Ocean.