While sriracha is broadly thought to be a present direct from the gods, it’s really produced from vegetation—vegetation which might be failing amid so little water.

Production of the wildly fashionable spicy condiment is on maintain due to a scarcity of crimson jalapeño chili peppers, its fundamental ingredient. In April, Huy Fong Foods despatched out an email asserting a pause on new orders till after September.

“Currently, due to weather conditions affecting the quality of chili peppers, we now face a more severe shortage of chili. Unfortunately, this is out of our control and without this essential ingredient we are unable to produce any of our products,” wrote the corporate.

Drought and local weather change are largely in charge for the pepper scarcity, reports NPR. (Although, Huy Fong additionally set itself up for a better threat of shortages when it narrowed its pepper sourcing in 2017.) The particular kind of chili utilized in Sriracha solely grows within the southwest U.S. and northern Mexico, that are each experiencing the identical regional megadrought as a result of nationwide borders are irrelevant relating to local weather.

In Mexico, the implications of the drought have been even worse than for elements of the U.S.. The nation declared a national emergency on Tuesday, and more than 1 million people are underneath water rationing orders. Understandably, the area’s chili pepper harvest this yr was “almost nonexistent,” in line with NPR. But, although quirky, that pepper drawback pales as compared with the broader, human implications of northern Mexico’s water disaster.