Some provinces recovering gradually from El Niño, but PAGASA warns of drier, hotter months ahead
February 8, 2010 10:42 pm
MANILA, Feb. 8 — Several provinces affected by drier than normal conditions have started to recover, but the state weather bureau warned that impacts of El Nino phenomenon will persist until June.
"Overall assessment of rainfall for the month of January was below to way below normal in most areas of Luzon and Region VI (Western Visayas). Near normal condition was observed in Regions IV-B (MIMAROPA), Bicol Region, Central Visayas, Northern Samar, and central Mindanao. The rest of Visayas and Mindanao have received above normal rainfall," the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said in its latest El Niño advisory.
Weather systems that primarily affected January were Northeast (NE) monsoon, the tail-end of a cold front, the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and the low pressure area (LPA), which were responsible for the severe raining in southern Luzon and parts of Mindanao.
Prevalence of the NE monsoon affected the eastern portions of Visayas and Mindanao that brought rains for several days and eased down the dry spell conditions experienced over the affected areas during the month of December.
However, the Pagasa said that Benguet, Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Viscaya, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Batangas, Iloilo, Antique, Guimaras and Negros Occidental are still under dry spell conditions. Some areas of Capiz province continue to experience the drought condition.
The ridge of High Pressure Area (HPA) also affected some parts of the country last month, it said.
The agency, meanwhile, said temperatures will gradually rise as February wraps up, and summer sets in.
The El Niño in the equatorial Pacific continues to sustain its moderate strength and is recently in its mature stage. Gradual decrease in sea surface temperature is expected but still within the El Niño threshold and likely to last up to June 2010, it said.
Climate for February will likely be influenced by these weather systems: the NE monsoon, tail-end of the cold front, ITCZ, ridge of HPA, easterly wave, and a slim chance for a tropical cyclone occurrence.
Rainfall condition will likely be below normal over most parts of the country except for some areas in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Ilocos Region, Cagayan and eastern part of Mindanao where near normal rainfall is expected. The rest of the country will likely experience way below normal rainfall condition. (PNA) LAP/MPC
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