South America Regional Profile
Ecuador
Sensitive Rain Seasons
- Winter / Rainy season (January–May): Torrential during El Niño; river basins of the Guayas and Esmeraldas experience severe overtopping.
Primary Environmental Hazards
- • Catastrophic flooding in the lower Guayas River basin and agricultural lowlands
- • Extensive damage to shrimp aquaculture ponds and export banana plantations
- • Widespread landslides cutting highway links between Quito and the coastal ports
- • Surge in mosquito-borne diseases including dengue, chikungunya, and malaria
- • Reduced hydroelectric production in Andean reservoirs due to shifting cloud bands
Current 2026–27 El Niño Context for Ecuador
With eastern Pacific SST anomalies soaring past +3.0 °C to +5.0 °C, Ecuador faces prime vulnerability for extreme coastal flooding throughout the January–May 2027 rainy cycle.
Major Monitored River Basins in Ecuador
Guayas River Basin
2.20° S, 79.90° WLargest watershed on South America's Pacific coast; drains directly past Guayaquil.
Esmeraldas River Basin
0.97° N, 79.65° WMajor northwestern drainage basin subject to severe flash floods and mudflows.
Monitored Cities in Ecuador
Select any city below for real-time temperature, 7-day rainfall forecasts, and live flood risk score:
Guayaquil
2.2° S, 79.9° WQuito
0.2° S, 78.5° WCuenca
2.9° S, 79.0° WSanto Domingo
0.3° S, 79.2° WMachala
3.3° S, 80.0° WManta
1.0° S, 80.7° WPortoviejo
1.1° S, 80.5° WHistorical El Niño Events in Ecuador
1982–83 Event
Coastal floods destroyed railway systems and decimated agricultural exports.
1997–98 Event
Unprecedented rains flooded over 250,000 hectares of cropland in Guayas and Manabí.
2023–24 Event
Elevated coastal rainfall triggered declared states of emergency across seven coastal provinces.