THE southwest monsoon, or habagat in the vernacular, is weakening, signaling the arrival of the cool northeast monsoon, called amihan, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said.
“We expect ‘amihan’ to likely begin around the last week of this month,” said forecaster Meno Mendoza, noting the amihan will first be felt in Batanes province and other northern Luzon areas.
“Metro Manila will feel the cool ‘amihan’ winds between December and January,” he added.
According to the state weather bureau, the amihan starts over Siberia as a cold, dry air mass gathers moisture while traveling across the Pacific Ocean.
The amihan affects the Philippines’ eastern portions from October to late March and is characterized by “widespread” cloudiness with rains or showers.
Mendoza noted the habagat is already weakening as meteorological conditions are already transitioning to the amihan.
Rains from the weakening habagat will be less intense than what this weather system brought in previous weeks, he said.
He, however, said that even when the amihan sets in, the inter-tropical convergence zone and other weather systems could still bring thunderstorms.