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Drought in 8 provinces, dry spell in Metro Manila as El Niño intensifies

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Raphael Bosano, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="A farmer in Barangay Songco, Lantapan, Bukidnon harvests potatoes early amid an ongoing drought on Mar. 21, 2019. Aside from killing crops, heat attributed to El Niño is known to hamper the growth of produce. ABS-CBN News/Nikon Celis" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/news/03/21/20190320-drought-farming-el-nino-bukidnon-farmer-potato-nc-8133.jpg"/><figcaption>A farmer in Barangay Songco, Lantapan, Bukidnon harvests potatoes early amid an ongoing drought on Mar. 21, 2019. Aside from killing crops, heat attributed to El Niño is known to hamper the growth of produce. ABS-CBN News/Nikon Celis</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA — Eight provinces in Luzon are now experiencing meteorological drought, state weather bureau PAGASA said Wednesday. Drought — characterized by below normal rainfall conditions for five consecutive months or way below normal rainfall for three consecutive months — has been reported in Apayao, Bataan, Cagayan, Cavite, Ilocos Norte, Kalinga, Palawan, and Zambales. Dry spell and dry conditions are also prevailing in even more provinces throughout the country.At least 19 areas, including Metro Manila, are under a dry spell while 23 others are currently experiencing dry conditions.Dry spell and dry conditions also see below to way below normal rainfalls but for a shorter period compared to a drought. Less rainfall is a direct effect of the strong El Niño currently present in the tropical Pacific Ocean.Suppressed cloud formation and precipitation are particularly evident around Indonesia and the Philippines. Based on the current advisory, the phenomenon is expected to persist until March, April, and May this year. EXPECTING WAY BELOW NORMAL RAINFALLMore areas are expected to experience way below normal rainfall in the coming months.Areas in the western section of Luzon, including Metro Manila will see less rain in February. Most of Visayas and Mindanao, except its eastern provinces, will also see below normal rain that month. Way below normal rain will continue to creep through the western sections of Visayas and Mindanao while the rest of the central and eastern sections of the country are expected to continue experiencing below normal rainfall. Normal rainfall is expected to return in some parts of the country from May through June. By this time, PAGASA says, the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) will have transitioned to neutral. Because El Niño enhances prevailing weather conditions, Ana Solis, chief of PAGASA’s Climate Monitoring and Prediction Section, reminds parents and schools to prepare their children and schools for warmer school days once the northeast monsoon (Amihan) season ends. “It’s better to have preparatory measures kung makakaranas ng mainit o maalinsangan na temperature. Ang human discomfort ay posibleng tumaas so i-consider ito as one of the strategic measures pagdating ng mga warm and dry season months sa ating mga paaralan,” she said. (It’s better to have preparatory measures when we begin to feel warmer temperatures. Human discomfort will likely increase so we should consider mitigating measures in schools during the warm and dry season.) 2024 ANOTHER RECORD-BREAKING YEAR? The World Meteorological Organization has tagged 2023 as the warmest year on record. Foreign datasets show that the global-average temperature last year was 14.98 degrees Celsius, slightly higher than the previous record in 2016. Solis explains that temperatures were aggravated by the summer season in the northern hemisphere. In the Philippines, however, 2023 was just the 11th warmest year in the last three decades.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/01/11/24/2023-is-11th-hottest-year-in-philippines-pagasa">2023 only 11th hottest year in Philippines: PAGASA</a></li></ul>“Dito naman sa Pilipinas, ‘yung June, July, August ay kasagsagan naman ng Habagat (southwest monsoon) season, which was enhanced due to El Niño. Enhanced ang Habagat during El Niño that is why hindi pa rin naranasan ‘yung gano’n kainit na temperatura last 2023,” Solis said. (In the Philippines, the months of June, July and August, are characterized by the presence of the southwest monsoon which was enhanced due to the El Niño. That is why we didn’t experience extremely high temperatures last 2023.) However, with the El Niño advancing well into the warm and dry season beginning March, Solis says the possibility of 2024 being one of the warmest years for the country is not far-fetched. As the effects of El Niño continue, PAGASA advises the public to continue practicing water austerity measures. This, aside from keeping themselves in the best health as the climate phenomenon and its effects intensify.

As the effects of El Niño continue, PAGASA advises the public to continue practicing water austerity measures. 

Drought in 8 provinces, dry spell in Metro Manila as El Niño intensifies

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Drought in 8 provinces, dry spell in Metro Manila as El Niño intensifies

Raphael Bosano,

ABS-CBN News

Published January 24, 2024 06:07 PM PHT

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Updated January 25, 2024 11:24 AM PHT

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PAGASA

El Niño

Climate Forum

drought

dry spell

dry condition

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