BY MARY JOY CAVAÑAS
ILOILO City – The southwest monsoon or habagat season in the country is now officially over, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).
The state weather bureau said following the slight changes of weather pattern, the country is now transitioning to northeast monsoon or amihan season. Amihan signals the start of the dry and warm season.
It added that habagat was found to have weakened over the past few days next to a high-pressure system that has been strengthening over East Asia.
Moreover, with the ongoing El Niño phenomenon, there will be likely an increase of rainfall with below-normal conditions that could bring negative impacts such as dry spells and droughts that will likely be manifested during the last quarter of this year until the first quarter of 2024.
Weather specialist Ferdinand Rubin of Pagasa-Iloilo, however, said that although the raining possibility lessens, this might change depending on the season.
“The dry spells and droughts will likely be experienced in most parts of Region 6, with below-average to above-average air temperatures. The public must be prepared as El Niño will persist until May 2024. It means there will be more dry days than wet days,” Rubin said.
Meanwhile, two to three tropical cyclones are still expected to enter the Philippine area of responsibility before 2023 ends.
Pagasa said it will continue to monitor the country’s weather as well as the climatic conditions.
The state weather bureau further advised the public and all concerned agencies to regularly monitor relevant information, adding that disaster preparedness measures should be activated if necessary./PN
