Parts of the Marshall Islands, Guam, Palau, Mariana Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) are now designated under extreme and exceptional drought.
Extreme droughts in the Western Pacific region are expected to persist over the next three months.
These conditions are causing a massive strain on agriculture, water supply, and daily life for residents in FSM’s Yap Proper, the atoll of Wotje in the northern Marshall Islands, and other nearby islands in the Marshalls.
Guam weather service forecaster Joshua Schank told RNZ Pacific that while the region expected the last four months to be dry, the current El Niño weather pattern has intensified conditions.
“The rainfall across our region just kind of stopped for many places,” Schank said.