<\/p>\n
The climate pattern is developing in a world already experiencing record heat, increasing the potential severity of effects on agriculture, fisheries and water resources. \u201cEl Ni\u00f1o now is building on a much higher baseline,\u201d Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Assistant Director-General Kaveh Zahedi said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a hotter world that the El Ni\u00f1o is happening in, which means it\u2019s going to be magnifying some of the impacts.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) expects the event to reach the highest classification before peaking towards the end of 2026. However, the effects could continue well into 2027.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cWe expect this El Ni\u00f1o to be very strong,\u201d the UN agency said. \u201cThat\u2019s actually the top classification that we have. We don\u2019t go stronger than that.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Unlike sudden disasters, El Ni\u00f1o can be tracked months before the most severe effects occur, giving governments time to protect vulnerable communities and food production.\u201cWe have the forecast. We have the science,\u201d WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
FAO identifies a high likelihood of agricultural drought in Southern Africa, the Sahel, Central America\u2019s Dry Corridor and parts of South and Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Other regions could experience heavier rain and flooding, while unusually warm ocean temperatures could disrupt fisheries and coastal livelihoods.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
During the 2023-2024 El Ni\u00f1o, Morocco\u2019s cereal yields fell by 43%. Southern Africa experienced the worst drought in more than a century, leaving 61 million people requiring assistance and pushing more than 8 million into food insecurity. \u201cWe have a glimpse of what happened last time when we weren\u2019t prepared,\u201d Zahedi said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Governments can distribute drought-resistant seeds, improve water storage, protect livestock and provide warnings early enough for farmers to change crops or planting dates. \u201cWe have a lead time, but we\u2019ve got to act quickly because the window is shrinking,\u201d Zahedi said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Measures should be in place by February or March to protect the next harvest.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
However, climate-related development finance for agrifood systems declined by 10% to $26.9 billion in 2024. Financing for African agrifood systems fell by 20%. \u201cNot enough is going into the productive sectors and building that resilience,\u201d Zahedi said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now, we have a window of opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–UN\/ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":33568,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[44],"class_list":["post-46294","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-finance","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"A strengthening El Ni\u00f1o is raising the threat of drought, flooding and crop losses, but United Nations (UN) experts say governments still have time to protect food supplies.","published_date":"","news_description":"A strengthening El Ni\u00f1o is raising the threat of drought, flooding and crop losses, but United Nations (UN) experts say governments still have time to protect food supplies.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/46294","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/46294\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46295,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/46294\/revisions\/46295"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33568"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=46294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}