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Pedestrians shield themselves from the sun while passing through the Commonwealth Market in QUezon City on April 12, 2024. State weather bureau PAGASA earlier in the day warned of the possibility of dangerously high heat index levels in six areas in the country as El Nino continues to affect the Philippines. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

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Heat

Joyce Balancio

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/171446397889320240412-heat-index-qc-MT-6.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Pedestrians shield themselves from the sun while passing through the Commonwealth Market in Quezon City on April 12, 2024. <em>Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News</em></span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><p>MANILA — More than a hundred local government units (LGUs) have declared a state of calamity due to the impact of El Niño, Task Force El Niño Spokesperson Assistant Secretary Joey Villarama said Tuesday.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/3/6/el-nino-weakens-but-will-keep-temperatures-high-un-weather-agency-1057">READ: El Nino weakens but will keep temperatures high, UN weather agency says</a> </div><p>&quot;As of the latest update from the Office of Civil Defense, nasa 131 cities and municipalities na po yung nag-deklara ng state of calamity. Kalat-kalat po iyan sa buong Pilipinas. Sa bilang po na ito, meron po pitong buong probinsya. Nandiyan po &#x27;yung Occidental Mindoro, Antique, Sultan Kudarat, Basilan, Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao Del Norte, at yung nadagdag po is yung South Cotabato,&quot; Villarama told reporters in Malacanan.   </p><p>Cost of damage to agriculture has reached P4.39 billion, impacting 77,731 hectares, Villarama also said. </p><p>&quot;So for this case doon sa 77,000 hectares 77 percent po ang recoverable. So ibig sabihin po na puwede i-recover, part of the piece of land. &#x27;Yung crop po doon ay hindi naman po totally damaged. Mayroon pa po puwede masalba, mabenta, mapakain sa tao,&quot; he added. </p><p>Task Force El Niño is considering cloud seeding efforts to help areas where drought is severe. </p><p>However, the government is not employing this as its &quot;primary intervention&quot; considering some challenges. </p><p>&quot;May kailangan ma-fulfill na condition so kung may seedable clouds, kung ano yung ihip ng hangin kasi nga po mag-cloud seeding po kayo tapos biglang lumipat yung hangin at mapunta sa dagat,&quot; he explained.</p><div><strong>HOTTER WEATHER IN MAY</strong> </div><p>For its part, state weather bureau PAGASA warns of even hotter temperature on the first half of May.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/4/28/philippines-to-endure-extreme-heat-until-mid-may-1321">READ: Philippines to endure extreme heat until mid-May</a> </div><p>However, since the El Niño phenomenon is now &quot;weakening&quot;, there might be less LGUs that will record high heat index levels in the coming weeks.</p><p>&quot;Ang mangyayari mababawasan lang ang mga lugar kasi nakakaranas pa rin tayo ng mga matatas na heat index or discomfort level kahit hindi buwan ng Mayo. Pwede pumalo sa June, July, so nababawasan lang ang lugar na mataas ang heat index,&quot; PAGASA Climate Monitoring and Prediction Section Chief Analiza Solis said in a televised briefing. </p><p>Metro Manila, on the other hand, is likely to still experience hot weather, she said. </p><p>&quot;Kung mapapansin natin dito sa Metro Manila, sa urban areas, so iyong epekto ng urban island heat effect, iyong kakaunti, nababawasan iyong natural environment, natural ecosystems, iyong mga puno. So ibig sabihin, kapag panay sementado ang lugar, mas nage-emit iyan ng init or singaw. So iyon ang nakakapag-painit, kaya nagkakaroon tayo ng urban heat island effect,&quot; Solis explained. </p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OB0vQqj9qQk?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><div><br/></div>

<p>Task Force El Niño is considering cloud seeding efforts to help areas where drought is severe.</p>

Task Force El Niño is considering cloud seeding efforts to help areas where drought is severe.

131 LGUs declare state of calamity due to El Niño

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131 LGUs declare state of calamity due to El Niño

Joyce Balancio,

ABS-CBN News

Published April 30, 2024 04:09 PM PHT

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PAGASA

Task Force El Nino

state of calamity

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El Nino

climate change

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