Peru girds for tough El Nino heat and rain

Peru declared a state of emergency Thursday in a third of its cities as it warned that intense heat and rain associated with El Nino might mean people will not have enough to eat.

The El Nino weather pattern warms surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, triggering worldwide changes in winds, atmospheric pressure and rainfall patterns, and pushing warmer overall global temperatures.

In Peru, the government is bracing for higher temperatures and more rain than usual.

A state of emergency will be in effect in 607 of Peru’s 1,800 municipalities so as to protect food security, the Council of Ministers said in a statement.

Most of these areas are in the Andes mountains or the Amazon region.

The declaration means local authorities have to coordinate with the government to take action reducing “the very high risk that exists for people, farming and livestock raising.”

President Keiko Fujimori, who has been in power for 15 days, on Monday announced the creation of a special commission tasked with addressing the upcoming climate emergency.

In 2023 the El Nino pattern caused flooding and landslides that claimed 99 lives.

More than 9.3 million people in Peru, which is more than a quarter of the population, are at high risk of flooding and landslides as a result of El Nino, said the national disaster assessment agency Cenepred.