NUKU’ALOFA, Tonga — The Tonga Meteorological Service declared drought across all of the kingdom’s major islands, including Tongatapu, Niuatoputapu, Ha’apai and ‘Eua, the Pacific Islands News Association reported, citing RNZ Pacific.
Niuafo’ou remained on a drought warning and Vava’u on a drought alert, the report said. The warnings will stay in place for the next three months.
Key facts
- Officials across Papua New Guinea’s Highlands were urged to evaluate and provide immediate relief during an El Niño dry spell, Hawaiʻi Public Radio reported on Oct. 28.
- Wildfires on Papua New Guinea’s Lou Islands reportedly destroyed half of the island’s forests earlier in October, the station reported.
- The World Meteorological Organization expects El Niño to keep intensifying ahead of a forecast peak in December, PINA reported.
What forecasters said
“El Niño is still very strong and, like the forecast, it’s probably going to peak around November to December,” Seluvaia Ilolahia, chief climate officer at the Tonga Meteorological Service, said, according to PINA.
The climate pattern is expected to peak toward the end of this year, with impacts continuing well into 2027, Hawaiʻi Public Radio reported.
Some rain fell in Vava’u, but rainfall elsewhere in Tonga was below average, PINA reported.
The drought comes days before the COP31 climate conference opens in Antalya, Türkiye, on Nov. 9, where Australia will lead the negotiations with a focus on Pacific priorities.
Related coverage
Sources
- Pacific Islands News Association (RNZ Pacific), “Drought declared in parts of Tonga as El Niño intensifies,” Oct. 12, 2026
- Hawaiʻi Public Radio, “Pacific News Minute: El Nino brings dry spell to PNG,” Oct. 28, 2026
- Australian Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, “COP31 Australia-Pacific”
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