Papua New Guinea faces drought and water shortages due to El Niño

Papua New Guinea’s Central Province and the National Capital District are facing severe challenges due to a prolonged drought driven by the El Niño weather phase. The region is experiencing extreme dryness, damaged crops, and a critical shortage of water. In Port Moresby, communities are dealing with frequent water outages caused by malfunctioning infrastructure, while frost has further exacerbated crop damage in some areas.

The drought has led to the drying up of many water sources, resulting in the closure of schools in parts of the Central Province. Arid conditions have also made fires a common occurrence in the hills surrounding the capital.

Central Governor Ruffina Peter stated that the provincial executive has allocated 5.3 million kina (approximately NZ$2 million) to assist affected communities. However, she noted that 40 million kina would be required to implement a full-scale response to the food and water security crisis.