Oxfam predicts Papua New Guinea will be the worst-hit country in the Pacific from the current El Niño weather pattern, with up to 3 million people affected nationwide. Families across the Highlands are confronting depleted harvests and the threat of hunger as frost and prolonged dry conditions destroy food gardens that provide both sustenance and income for thousands of households.
The effects of El Niño emerged in recent weeks, bringing drought, falling water levels, and frost to some of the country's most agriculturally productive regions. These conditions are now threatening food security in an area heavily dependent on subsistence farming and small-scale agriculture.
Oxfam's projection indicates the scale of the crisis could be enormous, with nearly a third of PNG's population potentially impacted. The destruction of food gardens cuts off both nutrition and cash flow for families who sell surplus produce at local markets.
Without immediate intervention, the shortages could deepen in coming months, straining already limited humanitarian resources. The warning underscores how remote, agriculture-dependent communities remain acutely vulnerable to climate-driven weather extremes.
Oxfam has called for urgent international aid to prevent a widespread hunger crisis, but no formal relief plan has yet been announced.