Quito activates seven immediate measures after Ecuador’s El Niño red alert

Quito is preparing for El Niño in the middle of the dry season, with the city’s emergency committee activating seven immediate measures after Ecuador declared a nationwide red alert on Aug. 29, 2026.

The Metropolitan Emergency Operations Committee, known as COEM, met on Sept. 1 with the Secretariat-General for Citizen Security and Risk Management and other agencies. They reviewed available technical and scientific information and agreed that the phenomenon needed continuous monitoring.

The first two measures focus on planning and surveillance. Quito will continue updating its municipal action plan for the 2026-2027 El Niño phenomenon. COEM will remain active, while hydrometeorological monitoring and local risk scenarios will be strengthened and updated.

The city will also reinforce its “Together Against Fire 2026” plan and, through municipal water company Epmaps, monitor water sources. Early warnings will remain active in case of a possible water deficit. The measures follow national instructions requiring situation rooms and technical-scientific agencies to increase monitoring and revise risk scenarios for each jurisdiction.

The technical report behind the red alert identifies a significant rainfall deficit in the Inter-Andean region, along with above-normal air temperatures across broad parts of Ecuador. Inamhi’s Climate Prediction Bulletin No. 6-2026 says rainfall in the Andean region is likely to remain normal to below normal, particularly in central and southern areas, although that does not mean rain will stop.

Dry conditions, high temperatures, low humidity and dry vegetation also increase the risk that forest fires will start and spread. COEM will therefore strengthen its fire plan and ask Conagopare’s Pichincha office to send preventive guidance to rural parish governments, reinforcing prevention and response during the dry season.