Bolivia Declares State of Emergency Over El Nino Drought

Bolivia's government declared a nationwide state of emergency on Saturday to speed the delivery of aid and rescue teams to regions hit by drought and flooding tied to the El Nino weather pattern, according to Al Jazeera.

President Rodrigo Paz signed the decree, which authorizes additional deployments of rescue personnel to areas of the country facing the sharpest effects of the climate cycle, Al Jazeera reported, citing the text of the order.

What did Bolivia's government decree, and why now?

The decree gives national authorities broader latitude to move money, equipment and personnel into the hardest-hit departments without the delays of ordinary budget procedures, according to the report. Paz said the step was necessary because El Nino will bring "very severe impacts in terms of drought and floods" across the country, and he called for "the cooperation of all institutions" in responding, Al Jazeera reported.

The declaration covers the full nation rather than a single region, reflecting the dual threat Bolivia faces: parched farmland in some departments and swollen rivers in others, often within the same season.

How many people and animals have been affected?

A government report issued this week, cited by Al Jazeera, put the scale of the damage in concrete terms:

• Drought is affecting 78,000 families across six of Bolivia's nine departments.
• More than 75,000 cattle have died as a result of the dry conditions.
• In December 2025, separate flooding in the Santa Cruz region killed dozens of people, underscoring the country's exposure to both extremes of the same climate pattern.

The cattle losses fall hardest on rural households that depend on herding for income and food, though the government report cited by Al Jazeera did not break down the toll by department or livestock type.

How severe is this El Nino cycle expected to be?

El Nino is a recurring climate phenomenon, arriving roughly every two to seven years when the Pacific Ocean warms and shifts global wind, pressure and rainfall patterns, often producing extreme weather far from the ocean itself, according to Al Jazeera's reporting. The current cycle is forecast to peak at the end of 2026, with effects persisting into 2027.

The World Meteorological Organization reported in early September that there was a nearly 100 percent likelihood El Nino conditions would continue through February 2027, Al Jazeera reported. Scientists cited in the same report said this cycle could rank among the strongest on record and could contribute to more than 450,000 deaths globally, with poorer countries bearing the heaviest burden.

"Very severe impacts in terms of drought and floods" — Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz, on the decree declaring a state of emergency.

What happened in neighboring countries?

Bolivia is not alone in absorbing the shock of this year's El Nino pattern. Chile's capital, Santiago, recorded its rainiest October on record, Al Jazeera reported. In Peru, wildfires linked to the broader weather pattern killed at least 12 people last month. Argentina has also contended with the cycle: farmers there evacuated cattle by boat as flooding escalated, according to a related Al Jazeera report referenced in its coverage.

The regional pattern illustrates how a single climate cycle can produce opposite extremes in neighboring countries — drought and cattle die-offs in Bolivia's interior, record rainfall in Chile's capital, and fire in Peru — within the same several-week stretch.

What happens next under the state of emergency?

The decree does not set a fixed end date in the reporting available, but it is structured to let Bolivian authorities reallocate resources as conditions shift between drought and flood risk through the remainder of the El Nino cycle. Paz's call for "the cooperation of all institutions" suggests the government expects to coordinate across national, departmental and local agencies rather than rely on a single emergency-response body.

With the World Meteorological Organization's forecast pointing to El Nino conditions lasting through February 2027, Bolivian officials are likely to face a stretch of several more months before the cycle's peak passes and recovery work — rebuilding herds, repairing flood damage, and restoring normal agricultural cycles — can begin in earnest. Al Jazeera's reporting did not specify a timeline for lifting the emergency declaration itself.