The share of Puerto Rico under drought fell from 47.9% to 43.5% of the territory in the past week, a drop of 4.4 percentage points, according to the Drought Monitor report released Thursday with data valid as of October 20, 2026. Moderate drought declined from 23.2% to 20.5% (2.7 points), and severe drought went from 17.5% to 15.8% (1.7 points).
Extreme drought held at 7.2% and remains concentrated mainly in parts of the south and southwest coast. Areas classified as abnormally dry rose slightly, from 9.1% to 9.7%; that category describes dryness that has not yet reached moderate drought. The latest map shows severe drought persisting in parts of the south and interior, while moderate drought mainly affects the center, north and east of the island.
Wide areas of the west and northwest, as well as parts of the east and southeast, are free of drought classifications. Vieques has moderate drought, while Culebra has areas of abnormal dryness. No part of Puerto Rico is under exceptional drought, the Drought Monitor’s most intense category.
The improvement is clearer against September 8, when 69.1% of the territory was in some drought category and 39.5% was under extreme drought. Since then, total drought extent has fallen 25.6 percentage points and extreme drought 32.3 points. More than four in ten parts of the territory remain under some drought category.