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MANILA, Philippines 鈥� The El Ni帽o phenomenon is less likely to occur in the country this year, an official from the state weather bureau said on Monday.
During the budget deliberations of the Department of Science and Technology at the House of Representatives, Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) administrator Vic听Malano听said there is now a 75 percent chance of having El Ni帽o this year, a drop from the forecast of 80 percent in the last two months.
鈥淜apag听lumagpas听na听ng December, very slim听na听ang听chances听na听magkakaroon听ng El Ni帽o,鈥澨齅alano听told lawmakers.
Pagasa听had said that the El Ni帽o may occur this year, but they later said the phenomenon is delayed.
鈥淎 majority of climate models indicate that El Ni帽o may develop this year. El Ni帽o is characterized by unusually warm ocean surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific (CEEP),鈥� said in a statement听in June.
鈥淧agasa听has already noted significant increase in the [sea surface temperature] from 0.2 to 0.4 C from April 21 to April 28, 2014. Because of this development and as climate models predict that this condition may persist for the next nine months,鈥澨齈agasa听said.
Pagasa听said that El Ni帽o affects the rainfall patterns in the country.
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