Stories
Record-Breaking El Nino Threatens Asia with Drought, Global Food Price Hikes
- •A worsening El Nino is predicted to be the strongest on record, causing severe drought in Asia and extreme weather globally, jeopardizing food security for millions.
- •Southeast Asia, already facing an energy crisis, is highly vulnerable; El Nino is fueling wildfires, depleting water supplies, and impacting fisheries.
- •Governments, with reduced financial capacity due to prior crises, face compounded problems as El Nino intensifies, forecast to peak in December.
- •The phenomenon could push an additional 49 million people into acute food insecurity by 2027, with significant impacts expected in Central America, Southern Africa, Eastern Africa, and South/Southeast Asia.
- •Reduced rainfall and hotter temperatures are pressuring agriculture and fisheries, potentially forcing farmers to delay planting or switch crops, with global implications for staple foods like rice and palm oil.
Key Questions Answered
The intensifying El Nino is expected to jeopardize global food security by potentially pushing 49 million more people into acute food insecurity by the end of 2027 and increasing global food commodity prices by more than 15% due to severe agricultural disruptions in Asia, Africa, and Central America.
El Nino is expected to cause severe drought and extreme weather primarily in parts of Central America and southern Africa, with significant impacts also anticipated in eastern Africa and South and Southeast Asia.
Indonesia and Malaysia, which supply about 85% of the world's palm oil, face severe threats as El Nino brings intense heat and dry weather, stopping farmers from fertilizing crops if there is no rain and ultimately hurting national production.
