Peru declares state of emergency in 796 districts over El Nino warning

Peru's government has officially declared a 60-day ​state of emergency across 796 districts—about ‌40% of the country's total, to prepare for imminent, severe weather risks linked to El Nino.

El ​Nino ⁠is a periodic warming of Pacific Ocean surface temperatures that disrupts global weather ⁠patterns, ​often bringing drought to ​some crop-producing regions and heavier rains to others.

According to a government decree published on Thursday, the 60-day measure enables the government to ⁠carry out extraordinary measures and actions ​to reduce the "very high" risk the ​districts are facing.

The emergency, established by a decree singed by outgoing president Jose Maria ​Balcazar, spans regions including Lima, Cusco ​or Arequipa.

The decree stated that regional and local governments will implement ‌the ⁠emergency measures in coordination with national authorities.

Additionally, the measures implemented during the state of emergency will ​be financed ​from existing ⁠institutional budgets of the agencies involved, without requiring additional resources ​from the public treasury.

While the global El Nino impacts global temperatures by warming the central Pacific, Peru is grappling with El Nino Costero (Coastal El Nino).

Meteorologists and multi-agency climate commissions warning systems estimate a high probability of this weather pattern persisting through the year, bringing intense, concentrated downpours.

According to national disaster prevention estimates, over 1.9 million people are exposed to severe flood zones, and upwards of 2.6 million people face extremely high risks of landslides.