Up to 3.2 million people in Guatemala face acute hunger between now and September 2026, UN-backed food security experts have warned, as an intensifying El Niño compounds an already fragile situation.
The warning, from the IPC, takes account of Guatemala’s lean season, the likely impact of the strengthening weather pattern and persistently high food prices. It comes a day after the UN warned that El Niño will probably push nearly 50 million more people into acute hunger worldwide, with Central America among the regions expected to be hit hardest.
Of the more than three million Guatemalans at risk, around 200,000 face an even more precarious situation, the IPC said.
El Niño is expected to peak between September and December, but its effects will be felt well into 2027 in many countries as the weather system disrupts future harvests.
Some relief is expected for Guatemala after October, however, as end-of-year harvests, rising remittances from abroad and a seasonal uptick in farm jobs help ease the pressure on food security, the IPC experts said.
