Pagasa declares start of dry season

March 22, 2019

The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) on Friday officially declared the start of dry season and termination of northeast monsoon.

The weather bureau said the shift of wind direction from northeasterly to easterly will result to generally fair to warm weather over most parts of the country.

However, occasional rainshowers and thunderstorms will be experienced in extreme Northern Luzon.

"With this development, the day-to-day weather across the country will gradually become warmer. though isolated thunderstorms are also likely to occur," Pagasa said.

Pagasa said the ongoing weak El Nino may cause prolonged dry spell and hotter air temperatures in the following months.

Analiza Solis, Pagasa climate monitoring vhief, said in a press briefing that as of February 28, five provinces including Ilocos Norte, Mindanao, Sulu, Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga Sibugay have been experiencing drought conditions.

Solis said a total of 55 provinces are under dry spell as of March 19.

"Pag-asa is monitoring and observing if the current dry spell in several areas will prolong and persist in the next coming months," she said.

Based on the weather bureau's different prediction models, the El Nino might last until end of June.

Pagasa advised the public to take precautionary measures to lessen heat stress and optimize the daily use of water for personal and domestic consumption. Cristina Eloisa Baclig/DMS