The drought condition may be prolonged until August as La Niña is likely to developing by the second half of 2024 and delay the onset of the rainy season, Science Secretary Renato Solidum said Tuesday.
Solidum said the increasing probability for La Niña’s occurrence in the June-July-August season is at 62 percent.
He said that while the El Niño phenomenon will transition from “strong” to “neutral” by the April-May-June season, hotter and drier conditions will still likely persist until August.
Solidum said in August, around 10 provinces in the country will likely experience drought, one will suffer from a dry spell, and two others to feel the effects of dry conditions.
“Because of the possibility of La Niña and the fact that it is dry and hotter, the months that there will be drought condition will be prolonged until August,” he said.
“So, our actions before were intended just for the second half of the year but we have to continue until the third quarter for the El Niño and drought effect,” he added.
As of March 24, around 37 provinces experienced drought conditions, 17 were under the dry spell and 13 felt dry condition, Solidum said.
Solidum said about 48 provinces will likely be affected by drought by April and will increase to 54 by May.
The number of drought-affected areas will decrease to 25 and 23 by June and July, respectively, he added.
Analiza Solis, chief of the Climate Monitoring and Prediction Section at the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), said around 13 to 16 typhoons are expected to hit the Philippines in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Solis said the number of tropical cyclones that will make landfall this year is “below normal” than the average 19 to 20 typhoons that usually enter the country.
Solidum underscored the importance of government and public preparedness given the shorter lead time to take the appropriate actions to mitigate the possible effects of the typhoons that will hit the country.
“People should really make sure that they are always ready. We have less time to prepare so we must always be prepared for typhoons,” he said.
President Marcos on Tuesday ordered the activation of the El Niño Oscillation Online Platform (ENOP), a centralized “repository of data” for the understanding, monitoring and addressing the impacts of El Niño and La Niña phenomena in the Philippines.
Solidum said the ENOP is a platform created to address the five priority sectors in the El Niño and La Niña action program such as food, water, health, public safety and energy.
He said the public can access the platform to know more about the condition of the different sectors, and the intervention of the government agencies.