Irrigation

Central America has a lot of fresh water, which - with Irrigation - would turn dry areas into fertile fields.

El Niño is currently spreading high temperatures and drought from Mexico to Panama.

The midsummer heat wave, known as la canícula, is usually over by mid-July.

Now, weather experts say it is unlikely to end before September.

In the “Corredor seco” – the dry strip that runs though Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador, there are fears of migration as crops fail.

The launch later this year of an irrigation system for small Guatemalan farmers, will likely be too late to save this year’s harvest.

Meanwhile, irrigation systems could be productive.

In most of the region, water only has to travel a short distance from a central mountain range, which tends to have rain all year.

There is abundant water, especially in Panama and Costa Rica, which have more rain than any other country in the world, after Colombia.