Global Effects
World Impact Map

World Impact Map
Effects on Man and Nature

World Impact Map

PERU: Where El Niño was named -- and where its effects are always felt most directly. More than 80 people have been killed since December by mudslides, flooding and disease. Major snowstorms (billed as "storms of the century") strand thousands in the Peruvian Andes in September. The Agriculture Ministry is steering farmers away from storm-vulnerable crops like cotton in order to soften El Niño's effect on agriculture. The inclement weather has crippled the fishing industry.

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BRAZIL: Southern Brazil was inundated last August, producing some of the worst flooding in 30 years. At least 15 people lost their lives in floods across southern San Paulo. Torrential rainfall that began in early October is blamed on El Niño. Record heat waves (temperatures touched 42.7 degrees Celsius) drive thousands of people to the beach during August -- the middle of the Southern Hemisphere winter. Environmentalists fear the extended drought in some parts will turn the fragile Amazon rain forest into a tinderbox.

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CHILE: Record rain and late-winter snows hit northern Chile in August.

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COLOMBIA: Coffee and other crops are at risk. The coca crop, which is used to produce cocaine, is as vulnerable as legal crops; a bad year could severely hurt this illicit but immense business.

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CENTRAL AMERICA / MEXICO: Officials here blame El Niño for last October's Hurricane Pauline which devastated parts of Mexico's Pacific Coast and left more than 400 people dead. Officials say the last time Mexico was hit by a storm more severe than Pauline was in 1959. In December, snow fell in Guadalajara for the first time since 1881.In Panama, canal shipping suffers from drought brought on by El Niño. The Panama Canal uses 52 million gallons of freshwater per ship, with about 40 ships a day going through the canal. In Panama, authorities say reduced rainfall has damaged an economic asset that requires an abundant water supply.

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CANADA: Milder and drier across much of the country; some fisheries impact on the West Coast; ski resorts at Canadian Rockies could suffer because of less snow.

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PACIFIC ISLANDS: A rash of tropical cyclones hits the Central Pacific islands; eight in 1997 compared to two the year before; damage to coral reefs is believed to have occurred already. Tourism impact could include damage to diving industry.

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AUSTRALIA / NEW ZEALAND: Drought and bush fires. Australia already has seen an erratic cycle of rain and drought in 1997. Farmers, forewarned that El Niño could cause a drought, sold off cattle and altered planting plans to minimize their losses. Some three fourths of New South Wales already is facing a drought. Officials predict a $700 million to $1.4 billion shortfall in grain. In New Zealand, crop and livestock losses have exceeded $130 million.

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SOUTHEAST ASIA: Facing its worst drought in five decades. The dry conditions caused hundreds of forest fires -- many deliberately set as a cheap way of clearing land -- to burn out of control for months, creating a cloud of smoke that blanketed an area more than half the size of the continental United States. The cloud sent air pollution levels soaring not only in Indonesia but in Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, the Philippines and Thailand. Cash crops from timber to coconuts to palm oil could be affected.

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PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Up to a million people face starvation from the worst drought in 50 years. Bone-dry rivers have made it virtually impossible to transport ore from the mines, bringing copper and gold mining -- a mainstay of the economy -- to a near standstill. Monsoon rains start late, and fall far short of what's needed to offset the severe drought. Diseases such as typhoid, malaria, and diarrhea reach epic proportions.

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INDIA / PAKISTAN: The monsoon season in the region has been spotty with some areas receiving far below normal rainfall. Rain in southeastern India, which is crucial to the country's rice production, was 30 percent below normal during the latter part; a disruption of India's monsoon could create a shortfall in grain production for the normally self-sufficient country.

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KOREA / JAPAN / CHINA: There's some argument about this, but some feel that North Korea's devastating drought is related to El Niño. Too much snow in Nagano caused problems during the Winter Olympics. The Yangtze River in China becomes impassible to shipping in 137 places due to drought during August and September. However, El Niño effects on this region tend to be less harsh than anywhere else on the Pacific Rim.

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SOUTHERN AFRICA: The Mandela government has made preparations for a severe drought; Zimbabwe has spent U.S. $122 million on grain purchases to fend off crop failure and possible famine.

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NORTH AFRICA / MIDDLE EAST: Israeli researchers have traced 20 years' worth of rainfall data, and report a close correlation between higher rainfall and El Niño conditions.

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EUROPE / RUSSIA: Possibly the least-affected area of the world, but aid agencies in Russia and elsewhere are still preparing for a big storm season. There's a possible link to increased North Sea storms, but this is speculative.

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UNITED STATES: Two-thrids of California's counties have been declared as federal disaster zones owing to El Niño. Damage caused in that state alone has amounted to more that US$500 million, with 90 deaths across the States attributed to it. Unusual storms and rainy weather will be more common in California and southern United States.

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HONG KONG: Seven of the 10 wettest years on record in Hong Kong have occurred during El Niño years, and 1997 was no exception.

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KENYA: At least 30 deaths attributed to torrential rains across the country; Mombassa receives 761 millimeters of rain in the first 20 days of October; normal rainfall for the entire month of October is 97 millimeters. Meteorological department forecasters, citing El Niño, say the death and destruction caused by unusually heavy rain at the coast is only the beginning.

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BURMA: Worst flooding in three decades; unconfirmed reports of the number of people affected by the floods are between 1 and 2 million, with some 500,000 left homeless.

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EASTERN PACIFIC / TAHITI:Hurricane Linda achieves status as the strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Eastern Pacific (Category 5; gusts of up to 220 mph; sustained winds of 200 mph). Linda exceeds Category 5 by such an extent that a new Category 6 is proposed by meteorologists.

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TAIWAN: Winnie, the most powerful typhoon in decades, leaves 43 dead in China and Taiwan.

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