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PARIS: Torrential rains in India and Nepal, coupled with drought already devastating parts of South America, are among the impacts of this year’s exceptionally strong El Nino, which is being felt across the globe.
The weather phenomenon threatens rice and coffee harvests to such an extent that the World Bank expects food prices to rise by 18 per cent next year.
Here is how El Nino is affecting different parts of the world.
Ferocious winds and torrential rain lashed India’s southeastern coast after a cyclone made landfall on Wednesday, killing at least three people and forcing nearly 100,000 others to evacuate.
“Our homes get flooded, and we have to stay in the water,” said Rajeshwari, 65, who gave only one name, after being taken to a government-run shelter near Kakinada, close to the storm’s centre.
Cyclones, known as hurricanes in the North Atlantic and typhoons in the Pacific, are a regular threat in the Bay of Bengal and the northern Indian Ocean.
This year’s storm season, however, has been intensified by the El Nino weather phenomenon, which has contributed to unprecedented warming.
Cyclone Arnab then moved towards Nepal, bringing heavy snowfall to the high Himalayan regions and intense rainfall through Saturday.
In Bolivia, drought is affecting 78,000 families in six of the country’s nine departments and has resulted in the loss of more than 75,000 cattle, according to a government report this week.
On Saturday, Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz declared a state of emergency to mobilise resources to deal with the impacts of El Nino.
“This will be a phenomenon that will have very severe impacts in terms of drought and floods, and we need the cooperation of all institutions,” Paz said.
In neighbouring countries such as Peru, El Nino has pushed up temperatures and triggered forest fires that have already claimed at least 12 lives.
It has also contributed to the spread of dengue fever, a tropical disease.
In Chile, meanwhile, the phenomenon is being blamed for the wettest October ever recorded in Santiago.
According to the World Bank, food prices are expected to rise by 18 per cent between 2025 and 2027. The projected increase reflects supply disruptions caused by conflicts as well as the anticipated effects of El Nino.
Since June, an estimated 484,500 excess heat-related deaths have occurred globally due to the weather phenomenon, according to the University of Chicago’s Climate Impact Lab.
The organisation projects that around 373,000 additional deaths could occur over the next six months.
Coffee, cocoa and rice are among the crops particularly vulnerable during this “Super” El Nino year, although the impact varies from region to region.
“From a food-security perspective, the crops of greatest concern are staple foods because they provide the bulk of calories consumed by populations in vulnerable countries,” Maximo Torero, chief economist at the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), told AFP.
El Nino particularly affects rice production in regions where it reduces rainfall, especially in Asia, where water shortages can limit planting and reduce yields.
Maize and beans, which are essential food crops in Mexico, Central America and southern Africa, are also at greater risk from drought.
Even sorghum and millet, which are vital in East Africa and more resistant to water shortages, can suffer from prolonged rainfall deficits, according to the FAO. Wheat yields can also be affected by irregular rainfall.
Beyond reducing local food supplies and pushing up prices, such conditions can trigger increases in global prices for major cereals and sharply raise import bills for countries dependent on foreign supplies.
The FAO is also closely monitoring export-oriented crops such as cocoa and coffee, which are sensitive to both excessive and insufficient rainfall. Too much rain encourages disease, while too little can damage crop quality and reduce production.
A poor harvest can hurt the incomes of local farmers and reduce foreign currency earnings for producing countries, while also driving up prices on the global market.