How This Year’s Super El Niño Will Worsen Global Hunger

A powerful El Niño is worsening drought and crop damage in several regions, raising concerns that hunger will deepen in countries already facing food shortages. Aid agencies warn the effects could be especially severe because funding is tightening and conflict is disrupting supplies of energy and fertiliser.

The World Food Programme estimates that El Niño could push 49 million more people into acute food insecurity by the end of 2027, bringing the total to 274 million. El Niño shifts rainfall patterns: drought can reduce harvests in parts of Africa, the Amazon and Australia, while some areas receive more rain; research has found it can suppress maize, rice and wheat production by up to 4 per cent globally.