Provinces Start to Reel From El Niño

Things will get worse before they get better, as the dry spell is expected to deepen across the country.

This early, the dry spell stemming from El Niño is already destroying crops, reducing water supplies and endangering the health of millions of Filipinos, according to officials.

Abnormally low rainfall in most parts of the country is expected this month, and dry spells and drought are due in the coming months until August, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).

By the end of March, 22 provinces are likely to experience dry conditions, 41 likely to experience a dry spell, and nine to experience drought, Pagasa said.

In Zamboanga City, a state of calamity has been declared amid the drastically reduced water levels in rivers and the Pasonanca watershed.

'The city agriculture [office] also reported damage to crops, as well as ill effects on health of the city's constituents,' Vice Mayor Cesar Iturralde said on Monday.

Early harvest

At Laoag City in Ilocos Norte province, farmers have started harvesting crops such as corn earlier than scheduled before these are laid to waste due to rising temperatures.

Some fishpond operators have also been harvesting tilapia to avoid fishkill.

Farmers have resorted to pumping water from the ground through shallow tube wells but acknowledge that the volume is not enough.

El Niño conditions are expected to last until May, according to Pagasa. The phenomenon is characterized by unusually warm sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific.

Pagasa has said weak El Niño conditions are prevailing over the country since February, warning the public of warmer-than-average surface temperatures and a prolonged dry season in the months to come.

Climate outlook

In the March to August climate outlook presented on

Feb. 20, Pagasa climate monitoring and prediction section chief Ana Liza Solis said that this month, only southern Mindanao and Surigao del Sur were likely to experience 'near normal' rainfall, with the rest of the country to experience below normal rainfall.

Solis said that this month, 22 provinces were likely to receive way below normal rainfall, 50 below normal, only eight near normal, and three above normal.

'Way below normal' means a reduction of more than 60 percent from average rainfall, while 'below normal' means a 21- to 60-percent reduction.

Drought is declared after three consecutive months of way below normal...