MANILA, Philippines – The public is advised to pack their umbrellas and rain gears, and to brace for the onset of the rainy season which may be declared next week, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said on Wednesday.
Pagasa deputy administrator Flaviana Hilario said in a press briefing at Malacañang that the start of the rainy season may possibly be declared on the first or second week of June.
She explained there are two criteria that must be met for the wet season to be officially declared: the amount of rainfall recorded in the western side of the country has to be at least 25 millimeters over a five-day period, and this should be associated with the “habagat” or southwest monsoon.
“Based on our rainfall forecast, the onset of the rainy season for areas under Type 1 Climate, these are areas along the western side of the country and this is associated with the Habagat or Southwest Monsoon, it is expected to be during the first half of June,” Hilario said.
She added that five to eight tropical cyclones are expected to hit the country from June to August.
“And in terms of our forecast on the number of tropical cyclones, from June to August, we are expecting around 5 to 8 tropical cyclones,” she said.
Pagasa forecasts that the rainfall condition in June will be generally near normal in many parts of the country except Apayao, most parts of the Ilocos region, Cagayan, Tarlac and Zambales, which would experience below normal conditions.
In July, rainfall condition will be below normal in most of parts of Mindanao and southern Visayas.
By August, Hilario said generally near to above normal rainfall conditions will be experienced in most areas of the country.
Pagasa also said that the probability of experiencing El Niño until the end of this year remains high.
“There is still a chance that (El Niño) will continue until the end of this year, 2019. However, the uncertainty is quite high,” Hilario said.
Meanwhile, the National Economic and Development Authority reported that the country’s growth slowed down a bit in the first quarter of 2019 due to the effects of El Niño.
NEDA Undersecretary Adoracion Navarro said the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) went down by 0.21 percentage points because of the drought that affected several provinces.
However, Navarro assured the government is implementing measures to address El Niño’s effects to the agriculture sector.
“With respect to El Nino, we are implementing interventions, we are finding sources for those which are not funded by agencies regular budget,” Navarro said.
The agency also remains positive that the country will still achieve its six to seven percent economic growth target for the year 2019. (with details from Rosalie Coz)
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