HISTORIC EL NINO LOOMS AS GOVERNMENTS READY FOR GLOBAL WEATHER DISRUPTION

Mon 24August 2026:

Authorities are bracing for elevated threats of drought, floods, severe heat, and wildfires, as a swiftly intensifying El Niño heightens the chance of an unprecedented climate event later this year.

Sri Lanka has organized water deliveries for nearly 72,000 residents in seven districts while confronting a drought tied to this year’s intense El Niño, a senior official reported on Thursday.

Water levels at hundreds of small tanks in the country have dropped to about 10 percent. Families are expected to receive about 75 litres (20 gallons) of water every two to ‌three days for their drinking and sanitation needs during truck deliveries from parts of the country unaffected by the drought.

The government has allocated 4.8 billion rupees ($14m) from the budget for water distribution.

Minister of Environment Dammika Patabendi told reporters the government expected El Nino to peak around November but ⁠now believed it would peak sooner.

“We will revise and extend response measures as necessary,” he said.

After September, Patabendi ⁠said, the year-end monsoons should bring heavy rain, but drought could return at the beginning of next year.

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Indonesia, Peru, Honduras

Meanwhile in Indonesia, the government says wildfires have burned through more than 200,000 hectares (494,200 acres) since the start of the year, an area around three times the size of the sprawling capital Jakarta.

In July alone, fires destroyed 95,000 hectares (234,750 acres) of land across Indonesia as dry conditions driven by a powerful El Nino weather pattern took hold. 

Thick smog caused by the flames is blanketing areas like Palangkaraya, the capital of Indonesia’s Central Kalimantan in Borneo, causing poor air quality.

The mayor advised people to wear masks and stay indoors. Motorists who ventured out battled through brown haze that reduced visibility.

Indonesia’s Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni told reporters in Palangkaraya on Wednesday that experts were on standby for cloud seeding operations to quell fires and prevent future ones.

“Should there be even the slightest trace of a cloud suitable for seeding, and provided it is technically feasible to seed it, we will carry out a weather modification operation,” he said.

Elsewhere, the US says it will send a military hospital to the coast of Peru next year to help the country cope with the effects of El Nino.

And in the Central American nation of Honduras, the government has put 80 percent of the country, including the capital, on drought alert after El Nino-related dry weather burned harvests and caused livestock to die.