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Panama declared a national state of emergency on Tuesday to combat severe drought driven by an intensifying El Niño weather pattern.
The prolonged dry spell has already forced authorities to restrict daily transit through the Panama Canal, threatening global shipping lanes and devastating local crop yields.
El Salvador also issued a maximum red alert on Tuesday to mobilise relief efforts across its entire territory.
Extreme temperatures and missing seasonal rains continue to wipe out local harvests, prompting El Salvador’s agriculture ministry to deliver direct food assistance to rural farming families without irrigation systems.
The weather phenomenon continues to break historic temperature records across Central and South America, intensifying famine risks throughout the region’s Dry Corridor.
Further south, Peru recently placed a third of its cities under emergency status as officials prepare for severe heat and unpredictable rainfall to disrupt food production.
