Overview
- Peru’s El Niño panel ENFEN kept its coastal alert in place and projects warm ocean conditions through December with a chance the event strengthens to moderate between May and July.
- Risk analysts at insurer Rímac say impacts would likely be smaller if warming consolidates from May because Peru’s peak rainy season runs from December to April.
- The government moved to prepare people and jobs, with the Production Ministry offering zero‑interest loans and grace‑period extensions for fishers as civil defense messages urge families to map risks, plan evacuations, and stock emergency kits.
- Economists warn a strong coastal El Niño has cut growth by about 1.1 to 1.5 percentage points in past episodes even as prevention budgets fell by more than 30% in two years and many regions failed to spend allocated funds.
- The stakes are already visible, with officials counting 46 deaths and more than 104,000 people affected in January and February and Cenepred placing over 364,000 residents of Piura at very high flood risk this year.