The weather bureau on Friday warned people to brace for a possible “La Niña” in the quarter to December, saying above-normal rainfall could prevail especially in the Visayas and Mindanao.
“La Niña” is characterized by below-normal sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean near the equator.
“There could be an increase in tropical cyclone activity by the last quarter this year and the first quarter next year,” said Ariel Rojas, a weather specialist of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration.
He says there is a 70-percent chance of a “La Niña” episode this year.
The weather bureau described a sustained cooling of sea surface temperatures across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific, and that the atmospheric indicator was now at the “La Niña” threshold.