FILE PHOTO: During a dry spell in April 2007, a farmer struggles to tend to his rice paddy in Carcar town, south Cebu. INQUIRER FILES
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� State meteorologists on Tuesday officially declared the onset of El Ni帽o.
Lorie Dela Cruz, weather specialist of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), has confirmed this in an interview.
鈥淵es, that鈥檚 correct. For the past three months, the climatologists observed that there is an ongoing El Ni帽o in the tropical Pacific, and its effects are starting to be felt in the country,鈥� Dela Cruz told 黑料社 over the phone when asked to clarify if Pagasa already declared the onset of this extreme weather phenomenon.
This comes as the El Ni帽o-Southern Oscillation (Enso) Alert and Warning System has been upgraded to an El Ni帽o Advisory by Pagasa.
On Tuesday, Ana Liza Solis of Pagasa鈥檚 climate monitoring and prediction unit said that state meteorologists have concluded that the phenomenon will likely become powerful in the next months.
Previously, the Enso Alert and Warning System was only under the 鈥渁lert鈥� classification.
鈥淭he Enso Alert and Warning System of Pagasa was raised or upgraded to El Ni帽o Advisory,鈥� Solis announced in mixed English and Filipino.
Solis explained that this phenomenon is present in the tropical Pacific and is seen to persist until the first quarter of 2024. She also noted that El Ni帽o shows signs of intensification in the coming months.
However, she said that the Philippines has yet to experience its full effects.
鈥淲e are still experiencing a weak El Ni帽o, but there are models and there is a high probability of more than 56 percent that El Ni帽o becomes moderate and strong at least in the last quarter of this year,鈥� she pointed out.
According to Pagasa, the weather phenomenon increases the prospect of below-normal rainfall conditions that could bring negative impacts such as 鈥渄ry spells鈥� or droughts in some parts of the Philippines.
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