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An extreme drought driven by an historic El Niño has affected up to 8 million people in Papua New Guinea, leading to widespread food and water shortages, electricity blackouts, and disruptions to schooling and healthcare. An influential coalition comprising churches, trade unions, and business groups declared the situation a national crisis, warning that authorities lack a coordinated plan to protect vulnerable communities.
Widespread Impacts on Rural Communities and Women
Residents and community leaders told Environment | The Guardian that local creeks and rivers have dried up while family food gardens, which provide vital sustenance and income, have shrivelled. Emilly Meren, humanitarian projects manager at CARE International in PNG, explained that families in rural highland areas are rationing food to one daily meal, which has triggered local disputes between families.
Women and girls bear a heavier burden in supporting their households while often eating last, according to Meren. She noted that females must walk three to four hours to find water and food, putting them at a higher risk of harassment, and stated that community members are experiencing situations where they trade sex for food or money.
Severe Weather and Dropping Water Levels
Kasis Inape, assistant director of the PNG National Weather Service, stated that the agency declared the onset of El Niño in June, but much of the country was already facing drought conditions by that point. Inape explained that warm tropical waters shifted east, starving the rain-fed nation of precipitation and severely impacting subsistence farmers who rely entirely on rainfall to feed themselves.
While a wet season typically runs from November to April, Inape expressed concern that El Niño would shorten the upcoming rainy period, noting that two months of rain will be insufficient for crops to grow and water levels to recover. Meanwhile, George Iki, president of the Sambe Unity Development Association, reported that a destructive hailstorm in Enga province buried sweet potatoes under ice earlier in the month, further worsening the food scarcity.
Local Water Crises and Urban Power Outages
In Morobe province’s Bulolo district, local resident Theophil Zarack reported that smaller rivers have dried up, forcing schools and health centres to operate for only half a day and causing some clinics to stop accepting inpatients. Martha Zureno, a resident of Leklu village, said that local rivers have completely dried up, requiring her family to walk miles each afternoon for cooking and drinking water while their garden crops have withered and died. Zureno added that the lack of water has also disrupted gold panning, which is the primary income source for most local residents.
In the capital of Port Moresby, falling dam levels have reduced hydropower generation, prompting PNG Power to initiate planned electricity blackouts that could last up to 10 months. Peter Aitsi, co-chair of the Community Coalition Against Corruption, stated that urban centres have mostly been shielded from the drought so far, but could soon face consequences from the power cuts and dwindling fresh food supplies from rural areas. Aitsi also noted that smoke haze has blanketed the capital over the past week due to fires on the island and in Indonesia, which scientists attribute to El Niño.
Prime Minister James Marape directed provincial and district authorities to prepare for an extended dry season, announcing that the government is reviewing financial arrangements to fund disaster responses. Marape stated that the cabinet is examining how to adapt financial instructions to ensure districts and provinces receive direct assistance to respond to disasters as they unfold.
