El Nino Fires Threaten Colombia

El Nino weather system is threatening large areas of Colombia with catastrophic damage as the government rushes to put measures in place to protect the country's agriculture.



Temperatures in northern Colombia have continued to rise, exceeding 41 degrees Celsius (105 degrees F) in places, and leading to the deaths of up to 15,000 cattle and heightening the threat from forest fires.



"Should things continue as they are it is very possible that El Nino will continue beyond October," warned President Juan Manuel Santos in a press conference on Thursday.



"That means the full force of this phenomenon will hit with its full intensity and could last from October to March or April next year."



The heat wave has caused 642 forest fires in the last two weeks, damaging 42 percent of the country's rice production and leaving 48 towns with severe water shortages. The Agricultural Union of Colombia has warned of a 1.9 percent fall in Gross Domestic Product this year due to the hot weather.



Emergency measures include the investment of 200 billion pesos ($108 million) to help the most affected areas. Of this, $19 million has been spent on water trucks, desalination plants, motor pumps and other water works. Additional funds have been provided for firefighting.



According to the Colombian Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies, the drought will continue into 2015 and the months of October, November and December 2014 will be the worst due to the arrival of the dry season.



www.aa.com.tr/en - Bogota