SPORTS · VERIFIED DEVELOPMENT
El Niño Strengthens, Heightening Drought Risk in Central and Southern Mozambique
WHY IT MATTERS
The strengthened early‑warning and coordination systems give Mozambique a realistic chance to mitigate food‑security losses and protect vulnerable rural communities during the coming El Niño‑driven drought.
What happened
El Niño is set to intensify over the second half of 2026, raising the chance of drought across central and southern Mozambique while still allowing for tropical cyclones and localized flooding during the rainy season. The climate shift is expected to hit agriculture and water resources first, triggering a domino effect on food security, nutrition, rural livelihoods, markets and household welfare.
Drought‑prone farming zones in the south and centre will feel the impact most sharply, as they already depend on rainfed agriculture and face existing food insecurity. Mozambique has responded by bolstering forecasting, anticipatory action, food‑security monitoring and disaster coordination, giving authorities a better chance to act early.
Yet planners must keep strategies flexible, because drought damage may linger after rains return and overlapping hazards could strain recovery efforts.
PRIMARY SOURCES
El Niño Climate Impact Outlook - Mozambique (August 2026)
ReliefWeb / original provider · UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction · ReliefWeb aggregation; original provider terms apply; link and attribution to the named source required