El Salvador Declares Red Alert Due to El Nino
· Dünya Gazetesi
The Central American nation of El Salvador has declared a national red alert against the risks of severe drought, hurricanes, and extreme heat caused by El Nino, activating emergency measures.
Red Alert in El Salvador
El Salvador, a Central American country, has declared a national red alert against potential hurricanes and drought waves caused by the El Nino weather phenomenon. The General Directorate of Civil Protection of El Salvador announced that disaster prevention efforts have been urgently activated, stating in an official release:
"It is the primary duty of the state to protect the lives, integrity, well-being, livelihoods, and food security of the population by taking timely disaster preparedness, prevention, and risk reduction measures against hydrometeorological and climatic threats."
Threat to Agricultural Production and Food Security
Officials reported that extreme heat combined with a lack of rainfall is disrupting food production. Emphasizing the need to strengthen early and preventive measures, the General Directorate of Civil Protection of El Salvador outlined the risk scenario in its official statement:
"The combination of rainfall deficit, recurrent drought periods, temperatures above seasonal norms, and the transition to a dry season increases the vulnerability of the population; this situation negatively affects water resources, agricultural and livestock production, livelihoods, and food security. It is necessary to implement and strengthen early, preventive, and mitigating measures to foresee, reduce, and manage the potential impacts of water scarcity on public health, water resources and quality, production systems, and food security."
Fernando Lopez, Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, stated on August 20 that eastern and coastal regions had faced drought three times in recent months and that storm-type rainfall was expected in September.
Risk of Global Temperature Rise
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) announced in its latest report that the El Nino event would rapidly strengthen in the coming months, escalating natural disaster risks. According to WMO data, sea surface temperatures in the East and Central Pacific are projected to rise rapidly between July and September, with an increase of over 2 degrees Celsius expected. Experts emphasize that the temperature increase could deepen agricultural yield losses.