El Niño might develop from weak to moderate level as summer interludes with the dry spell.
“As per Pagasa advisory, they said it is weak El Niño however because of the dry season it may strengthen from weak to moderate,” said Roy Jose Pascua, focal person of the Disaster Risk and Reduction Management of the Department of Agriculture XI.Last February, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) announced the occurrence of weak El Niño in the country and just this month, they have officially declared the start of the dry season in the Philippines.
Pascua said the last time that the concurrent of El Niño and dry season happened was way back 1997, which was also identified as the strongest dry spell phenomenon in the country.
He said that the 1997 El Niño phenomenon is comparable to 2015 dry spell phenomenon and this usually recurs every three to seven years.
However, Pascua assured that the phenomenon happening right now is way weaker. They don’t anticipate it to become as powerful as the 1997 experience
“We are still observing but according to Pagasa, it will stay until August and weaken from October to December this year,” Pascua said.
The DA XI-DRRM will continue close monitoring the most affected province in Davao Degion, which is Davao del Sur. Among the municipalities hit hard by El Niño are Bansalan, Matanao, Hagonoy, Kiblawan, and Magsaysay.
