Al Jazeera English, on Climate, 1 November 2026

6.0out of 10Serious

Bolivia declares state of emergency over El Nino weather pattern

Tap a highlight to see why it matters.1 finding

Bolivia has declared a nationwide state of emergency to free up resources to deal with the effects of the El Nino weather phenomenon. Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz signed the decree on Saturday, which also called for further deployments of rescue teams in areas of the country hard hit by flooding and drought. Recommended Stories list of 3 items list 1 of 3 Powerful storm floods US Northeast, causes power outages list 2 of 3 Restoring nature is key to a more resilient future list 3 of 3 Argentina farmers evacuate cattle by boat as El Nino escalates end of list El Nino will have “very severe impacts in terms of drought and floods”, Paz said, adding that Bolivia needs “the cooperation of all institutions”.

and has led to the loss of more than 75,000 cattle, according to a government report this week. Bolivia is also prone to flooding. In December 2025, floods in the Santa Cruz region killed dozens of people. Neighbouring Chile’s capital, Santiago, recorded the rainiest October ever, while wildfires in Peru killed at least 12 people last month. Bolivia’s President Rodrigo Paz says declaring a state of emergency will allow authorities to more quickly deploy resources where they are needed [File: Claudia Morales/Reuters] El Nino, a global climate phenomenon that occurs roughly every two to seven years, .

During this climate event, warming in the Pacific Ocean brings worldwide changes in winds, pressure, and rainfall patterns, often causing extreme weather. El Nino’s intensity varies, and its impact changes based on geographic location, but this cycle could be the strongest in recorded history . It is due to peak at the end of 2026, but its impacts could continue well into 2027. Advertisement Scientists predict El Nino could cause more than 450,000 deaths globally , with the poorest countries worst impacted.

In early September, the World Meteorological Organization reported a nearly 100 percent likelihood that El Nino will continue through February 2027.

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What we found (1)

Al Jazeera reports Bolivia's state of emergency over drought and flooding and explains El Nino only as part of the planet's natural weather cycle. It never tells the reader that human-caused warming is making droughts and heavy rainfall like these more frequent or more severe, so a reader comes away thinking the disaster is purely natural.

  1. Leaves out the climate link

    Serious

    “is part of the planet’s natural weather cycle”

    Why this matters
    The words "part of the planet's natural weather cycle" are the article's only explanation of what lies behind the drought and floods. Nothing next to them mentions human-caused warming.
    The impression it gives
    The drought hitting 78,000 families and the floods Bolivia is bracing for are purely natural events, with no human hand in how bad they are.
    The context
    El Nino is a natural cycle, but warming driven by burning fossil fuels has made hot extremes, heavy rainfall and drought more frequent or more severe. The article never mentions greenhouse gases, emissions or fossil fuels.

    How we know

    • On the recordThat warming has made hot extremes, heavy rainfall, agricultural and ecological drought, fire weather and intense tropical cyclones more frequent or more severe.ipcc.ch (opens in a new tab)
    • On the recordIt is unequivocal that human influence, chiefly the burning of fossil fuels, has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land.ipcc.ch (opens in a new tab)
    • Checked against the whole articleIt never uses the words “greenhouse”, “emissions” and “fossil”.

    Show it in the article

    “Drought is now affecting 78,000 families in six of Bolivia’s nine departments”

    Why this matters
    This sentence sets out the human cost of the drought: families affected across most of the country and more than 75,000 cattle lost. The article gives no word on whether a warmer world makes such drought worse.
    The impression it gives
    This scale of drought is simply what El Nino brings, as it always has.
    The context
    Human-caused warming has made agricultural and ecological drought more frequent or more severe, so the harm the article reports is worsened by warming. The article itself notes this cycle "could be the strongest in recorded history" and still gives no warming link.

    How we know

    • On the recordThat warming has made hot extremes, heavy rainfall, agricultural and ecological drought, fire weather and intense tropical cyclones more frequent or more severe.ipcc.ch (opens in a new tab)
    • Elsewhere in the article“could be the strongest in recorded history”

    Show it in the article

    Written straight

    El Nino is a natural cycle, but human-caused warming, chiefly from burning fossil fuels, is making droughts and heavy rainfall like those hitting Bolivia more frequent and more severe.

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