Nicaragua is already suffering the first effects of the El Niño phenomenon, which this year will be more severe than in previous events, and could cause serious damage to agriculture, as detailed to Article 66 a source from the Observatory of Natural Phenomena (Ofena).
According to data from international climate observatories, El Niño will be fully established by the end of this year, however, the Nicaraguan specialist indicated that it is already having effects in Nicaragua and throughout the Central American region, since it has just passed the so-called “phase neutral” to the “vigilance phase” and this phenomenon is the cause of the fact that, by the end of May, the rainy season has not yet established itself.
However, as the source explained, there have been some sporadic rains in some areas of the country, “but the rainy season is not being established at the moment.”
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The rains in recent days in some departments are due to a “trough zone and low pressure that is currently influencing the territory, so these rains that are occurring are not completely even rains throughout the country,” he explained.
The specialist highlighted that the absence of rain caused by the influence of the El Niño phenomenon is already causing concern among farmers, as they are waiting for the rainy season to plant their crops, especially in the areas of Madriz and Nueva Segovia. “We are telling producers to wait for next week, to see if the chances of moisture in the soil improve, to be able to sow,” he said.
El Niño is an atmospheric phenomenon caused by the gradual warming of the waters in the Pacific Ocean, which causes intense rains and floods in some countries and in others, such as Nicaragua, episodes of drought, forest fires and, as a consequence, food shortages and disease. For this year, its effects would be so severe that they are already calling it “Super Child” or “Extreme Child.”
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The meteorological observer was emphatic in indicating that if El Niño behaves as severe as internationally forecast, here and in other regions of the continent “it could seriously affect agriculture.”
In the case of Nicaragua, the specialist pointed out that the effects could already be felt in the primera harvest, which should have begun to be sown in May, and warned that as this Niño phenomenon is expected, the damage could even extend into next year. and up to 2027.
The Nicaraguan agricultural authorities expected a neutral winter, that is, that there would be neither a deficit nor an excess of rainfall, for which the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) had already forecast a 3.8 percent growth in agricultural production this year. . That goal now remains to be seen.
