Data or statistical facts on the situation and perspectives of agri-food systems and the impact of policies
5.3 was the SSTA anomaly in the Niño 1+2 region for the week centered on September 30, 2026; the SST value was 26.1.
Since 1950, no El Niño episode may have been as intense as the one forecast for 2026, according to the experts cited by the source.
Between 2 and 7 years is the usual recurrence interval of El Niño, a phenomenon that warms surface waters in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific.
25.8 million children in Latin America and the Caribbean face the consequences of El Niño, including floods, droughts, risk of malnutrition, exposure to disease and limited access to basic services.
840,372 km² were experiencing medium agricultural drought impact in the GDACS Central America-2026 episode as of September 29, 2026.
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.
3 countries showed a high level of agricultural drought impact in the territorial units reported by GDACS: El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua.
From September 23 to 29, 2026, drought worsened in Texas and Oklahoma, the Lower Midwest, Lower Mississippi River region and the Southeast.
As of September 29, 2026, 59.38% of the contiguous United States was experiencing drought conditions.
From September 28 to October 25, 2026, below-normal rainfall is forecast across much of Costa Rica.
