Bolivia declares state of emergency as El Nino drought worsens

Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz signed a decree on Saturday declaring a nationwide state of emergency to deal with the effects of the El Nino weather phenomenon, Al Jazeera reported. The declaration aims to free up government resources and calls for further deployments of rescue teams in areas hard hit by flooding and drought. [1]

According to Al Jazeera, the ongoing drought is currently affecting 78,000 families across six of Bolivia’s nine departments. The severe weather conditions have also led to the loss of more than 75,000 cattle across the country. [1]

President Paz warned that El Nino will have very severe impacts in terms of drought and floods, stating that the nation needs the cooperation of all institutions. El Nino is a global climate phenomenon driven by sea surface temperature warming in the tropical Pacific Ocean that affects weather patterns across the tropics and subtropics. [1][5]

As FTMQ News reported earlier, sea surface temperatures in a key region of the Pacific Ocean reached a record high in September 2026 as the climate pattern intensified. Al Jazeera reported that the current El Nino phenomenon is expected to peak in late 2026. [1][8]