Enviro News Asia, Rome — United Nations agencies have warned that a potentially strong El Niño event expected to intensify through late 2026 and into 2027 could worsen food insecurity and humanitarian crises across several regions already struggling with climate-related shocks.
The warning comes as climate impacts continue to escalate worldwide, particularly in countries with fragile food systems and limited capacity to cope with extreme weather events.
According to the World Meteorological Organization’s State of the Climate in Africa 2025 report, extreme weather and climate-related disasters affected at least 13 million people and caused more than 3,000 deaths across Africa last year. Flooding accounted for more than half of all recorded weather hazards.
Nigeria experienced severe floods in May 2025 that killed more than 200 people, while floods in the Democratic Republic of the Congo claimed more than 160 lives in April. Meanwhile, prolonged drought continued to intensify hardships across parts of East Africa.
The WMO said Africa is warming faster than the global average, while glacier retreat and sea level rise are accelerating. Ice coverage on Mount Kilimanjaro has shrunk dramatically from 11.4 square kilometers in 1900 to less than one square kilometer in recent years.
Climate scientists warned that these changes are increasing the frequency and severity of extreme weather events, leaving countries with less time to prepare and adapt.
Against this backdrop, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) cautioned that changing rainfall patterns associated with El Niño could trigger drought in some regions and severe flooding in others, threatening crops, livestock, water resources, and food production across Africa, Asia, the Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean.
The agencies warned that millions more people could face worsening food insecurity and livelihood losses without early intervention.
To address the threat, FAO and WFP launched their first Joint Anticipatory Action Appeal, seeking US$202 million to help nearly 8.8 million people prepare for the expected impacts of El Niño. The initiative focuses on providing assistance before disasters occur rather than responding after crises emerge.
Planned measures include cash assistance, distribution of drought- and flood-tolerant seeds, livestock protection programs, water storage facilities, early warning systems, and climate advisories tailored to local conditions.
Existing mechanisms are already expected to support around 1.2 million people, but additional funding would enable operations to reach another 7.6 million people in 22 priority countries.
FAO Deputy Director-General Beth Bechdol said experience has shown that acting before crises reach emergency levels is more effective and less costly than responding afterward.
WFP Acting Executive Director Carl Skau said the world has only a limited window to prevent another major food crisis. He emphasized that available forecasting tools make early action possible and that rapid intervention is essential to protect vulnerable communities before livelihoods are lost.
The agencies noted that the funding appeal comes at a time when humanitarian needs are rising globally while international aid budgets are facing increasing pressure. (*)
