PAGASA warns of impending La Niña, advises all sectors to prepare
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) raised the warning of a developing La Niña while urging all government agencies to “take precautionary measures”.
According to PAGASA’s November 2017 advisory, La Niña is most likely to develop before the year ends. The said weather condition can last until the first quarter of 2018.
As with the past instances of La Niña, Philippines will experience a significant increase in rainfall. The development of tropical cyclones will also be more frequent than usual.
PAGASA tagged this brewing La Niña as “weak”. However, it still raised the call for government agencies to prepare as the weather phenomenon can intensify by 2018.
As for the Philippines’ private sector, some efforts are underway to address the effects of worsening climate change.
More private establishments are incorporating disaster preparedness in their structural designs. The SM Supermalls branch in Marikina City, for example, is standing on a higher level as a precautionary measure against flooding.
What to expect in a time of La Niña?
According to the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), La Niña is a weather occurrence brought by the changing temperature over the Equatorial Pacific Ocean.
Together with its counterpart, the El Niño, it forms a complex weather cycle known as El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO).
As the ocean temperature in the Equatorial Pacific gets lower, tropical countries like the Philippines tend to experience a prolonged rainy season.
