About 1.3 million children in Cambodia are at risk from climate-related hazards associated with El Niño, which can cause unusually dry or wet weather, warned UNICEF Cambodia. More than 347 million children across nearly 100 countries worldwide face similar threats, it added.
For Cambodian families, the phenomenon could lead to shortages of water for daily use and agriculture, putting pressure on household incomes while disrupting children’s education and access to healthcare, the organisation explained in an October 13 statement.
A recent assessment found that more than 3,872 schools and 401 health centres – accounting for about one-third of such facilities nationwide – were at risk from natural disasters, including severe droughts, floods and other hazards.
The 2026-2027 El Niño phenomenon is forecast to be stronger than usual. El Niño is a natural climate phenomenon caused by warmer-than-average sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean. It alters rainfall patterns and temperatures worldwide, bringing drought and extreme heat to some areas while causing heavy rainfall and flooding in others.
These extreme weather changes can significantly affect water supplies, food security, livelihoods and the essential services on which children depend.
Dry Season Approaches
In a separate notice, the Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology noted that its monitoring and analysis of changing sea surface temperatures in the western Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean and equatorial regions indicated that atmospheric pressure systems, southwest monsoon winds, regional rain-cloud activity and weather conditions in Cambodia were shifting from the rainy season to the dry season.
The gradual withdrawal of the southwest monsoon, the increasing influence of the northeast monsoon and declining rainfall are expected to bring the 2026 rainy season to an end by the third week of October, it noted. El Niño conditions are expected to remain at a 100 per cent level through February 2027, it continued.
The northeast monsoon is expected to bring relatively little rainfall, although thunderstorms, lightning, gusty winds and other weather phenomena may occur in some parts of Cambodia.
In response to the changing conditions, the ministry urged the public to use water sparingly and help conserve water resources for the coming dry season, stressing the need for responsible and cautious water management.