KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews / 26 April) – Six provinces and one city in Mindanao have been experiencing a dry spell, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said.
In its latest advisory issued on April 21, PAGASA said the dry spell has been prevailing over the provinces of Basilan, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, and Zamboanga del Sur, and in Davao City.
Mindanao comprises 28 provinces and 33 cities.
The provinces of Antique, Guimaras, and Northern Samar in the Visayas and Albay, Bataan, Batangas, Bulacan, Cagayan, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Cavite, Laguna, Marinduque, Masbate, Metropolitan Manila, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Palawan, Pampanga, Quezon, Rizal, Romblon, Sorsogon and Zambales in Luzon are also under PAGASA’s dry spell category.
The state weather forecaster defines dry spell as three consecutive months of below normal rainfall condition (21 to 60 percent reduction from average rainfall).
Dry condition, on the other hand, means two consecutive months of below normal rainfall condition (21 to 60 percent reduction from average rainfall) and PAGASA has identified 13 Mindanao provinces under this category: Agusan del Sur, Bukidnon, Davao Occidental, Davao Oriental, Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Misamis Occidental, Misamis Oriental, Sarangani, South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Zamboanga del Norte, and Zamboanga Sibugay.
The provinces of Aurora in Luzon and Aklan, Biliran, Capiz, Eastern Samar, Iloilo, Leyte, Negros Occidental, Samar and Southern Leyte in the Visayas are also listed in PAGASA’s dry condition category.
No area in Mindanao and the Visayas have been classified under a drought status, which PAGASA said is being experienced in the Luzon provinces of Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Isabela, Kalinga, La Union, Mountain Province, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Pangasinan, Quirino and Tarlac.
Drought is defined as three consecutive months of way below normal rainfall condition (60 percent reduction from average rainfall).
PAGASA issued the dry condition, dry spell and drought assessment as part of the agency’s El Niño watch activities.
According to PAGASA’s monitoring last updated on April 22, ENSO-neutral conditions prevail over the Tropical Pacific, with most climate models suggest that El Niño is likely to emerge in the June-July-August season with 79 percent chance and is likely to persist until early 2027.
ENSO, which stands for El Niño Southern Oscillation, is one of the most important climate phenomena on Earth due to its ability to change the global atmospheric circulation, which in turn, influences temperature and precipitation across the globe, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (Bong S. Sarmiento / MindaNews)
