Central America and the Caribbean are in the midst of a drought that is impacting Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Hispaniola and Cuba. The world is gearing up to deal with El Nino, and these ongoing weather patterns will likely extend these dry conditions in the region into 2016, hurting agricultural output and affecting migration.
Central America and the Caribbean are in the midst of a drought that is impacting Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Hispaniola and Cuba. Agricultural output has been hit hard, complicated by the fact that the region is still recovering from a recent outbreak of coffee rust. Ongoing El Nino weather patterns, which are forecast to be particularly strong, will only make the situation worse. As the short-term water stress continues, more small farmers will lose their livelihoods — a humanitarian crisis that could drive migrants northward into Mexico and the United States. The world is gearing up to deal with El Nino, long anticipated but only recently confirmed. Prolonged drought is already gripping Central America and the Caribbean. While El Nino could bring heavy rains to the Caribbean coast, El Nino years are usually associated with dry conditions across much of this territory.
