In the worst affected areas, all garden food has gone and remaining forest food is already much reduced by extensive burning of the bush. Overall, up to 500,000 people in the Highlands now have very little to live on, and the effects of the emergency are beginning to become apparent, with the incidence of eye infections, skin diseases and diarrhoea rising, and strong anecdotal evidence of recent deaths of individuals who would not normally be considered vulnerable. Projected evolution 3. The drought and frost emergency is damaging not only subsistence farming but also the production of cash crops such as coffee and cocoa. Most significantly for the national economy, some mines have had to close as the level of water has dropped in the rivers on which they depend for supplies and the transport of ore.
Education is affected with many rural schools closed due to lack of water.
The level of Port Moresby's major reservoir is low and falling fast. Fossil fuel generation capacity is very limited and major restrictions will ensue. Most alarming are the wider social implications of the emergency for PNG, with the possibility of large-scale population migration from the rural to the urban areas. Such a movement is already perceptible. This could cause serious law and order problems in the localities to which the Highlanders descend, long-term damage to social cohesion, and even possible conflict.