Data or statistical facts on the situation and perspectives of agri-food systems and the impact of policies
10 countries were identified by GDACS as affected by the Central America-2026 drought episode: The Bahamas, Belize, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, Mexico, Nicaragua and El Salvador.
840,372 km² were experiencing medium agricultural drought impact in the GDACS Central America-2026 episode as of September 29, 2026.
194,176 people throughout Guatemala were affected by emergencies handled during the 2026 rainy season.
413 floods were recorded during the 2026 rainy season, making them the most frequently reported event among the 1,513 emergencies handled by the CONRED System.
1,513 emergencies were handled by the CONRED System in Guatemala during the 2026 rainy season.
Primera-season maize in Honduras and Nicaragua was rated 'Poor' (yields 5-25% below the 5-year average) due to prolonged dry spells and high temperatures. Guatemala and El Salvador are also showing concern over the same climate driver.
Between April 1 and August 20, 2026, the Pacific coastal areas of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua received only 30-60% of their average seasonal rainfall, ranking among the driest such periods since the CHIRPS record began in 1981.
The drought that El Nino is intensifying across Central America has left 236,447 Guatemalan families affected, according to the National Food and Nutrition Security Council (CONASAN), reported at its extraordinary meeting on August 28, 2026, which is evaluating raising the alert level to orange or red to activate the National Response Plan.
The strengthening El Nino across Central America - on track to be one of the strongest events since 1950 in 2026 - has driven Guatemala's worst drought of the season: 52 consecutive days without rain that have already caused crop losses in 138 of the country's municipalities, according to the Executive Secretariat for Disaster Reduction (SE-CONRED), reported at CONASAN's extraordinary meeting on A...
10.5 million people live in the Central American Dry Corridor and depend mainly on subsistence maize and bean farming, which is highly vulnerable to El Niño.
