New scientific warning about El Niño: extreme impacts on crops, shipping routes and fisheries are increasing

The intensification of El Niño in the tropical Pacific is producing extreme impacts on agriculture, fisheries, water resources and maritime transport. Off the coast of Peru, warmer ocean temperatures pushed anchovies into deeper waters and reduced catches, prompting the Peruvian government to end the fishing season early. In Central America, drought reduced the water available for the Panama Canal locks and slowed maritime traffic, while small farmers in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador lost crops. Water rationing and crop water stress were also reported in Puerto Rico and Jamaica, along with flooding in Chile and Peru, forest fires in Indonesia and below-average monsoon rainfall in India. Scientists warn that interactions between El Niño and global warming could intensify extreme events and alter historical climate relationships, reducing countries’ ability to anticipate impacts on production and food security.