Monsoon season has begun: PAG-ASA

May 24, 2017

The monsoon season has begun, the Philippine  Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAG-ASA) said Wednesday. Chief weather forecaster Robert Sawi said the country’s weather has 1.5 km above the surface as of now which is considered a weak monsoon. He said this is the start of the rainy season but heavy rainfall is yet to be experienced. “ The start of southwest monsoon does not necessarily mean the onset of rainy season. It’s like the start of rain that we are experiencing but if it is a full blown southwest monsoon, then that is the onset of rainy season”, Sawi said. Analiza Solis, officer-in-charge of Pagasa’s climatology division, said the onset of the rainy season is likely to be experienced between May 28 to June 5. She said five stations should experience a 25 mm rainfall in three consecutive days but only three out of eight monitoring stations met the criteria. The Philippines is likely to experience 19 to 20 typhoons this year, higher than the 17 typhoons in 2016, said Esperanza Cayanan, weather services chief of PAG-ASA. (Alanna Ambi/DMS)