The rainy season is about a week away.
MANILA, Philippines — Filipinos complaining of the recent high temperatures may be in for a surprise, as the state weather bureau confirmed on Wednesday that the country may be a week or two away from the official start of the rainy season.
According to Ana Liza Solis, Climate Monitoring and Prediction Section chief of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), the onset of the southwest monsoon or habagat, which brings rains to the country, might be earlier than expected.
This is despite high temperatures and heat indices experienced in recent days, especially for Luzon and some areas in the Visayas.
“Malapit na po, bale ‘yong inoobserbahan po nating wind ay nagsa-south, southwest, south southwesterly wind flow na siya, at sinasabi din po sa mga international predictions centers na maaga po ‘yong onset ng Indian summer monsoon o ‘yong northern hemisphere summer monsoon,” Solis said during the Climate Outlook Forum held online on Wednesday.
(The rainy season is nearing, as we have been observing that wind patterns have started to originate from the south and the southwesterly wind flow. International prediction centers are also saying that the onset of the Indian summer monsoon or the northern hemisphere summer monsoon would be earlier.)
“So ‘yon po ‘yong minomonitor natin, pero hindi pa rin po ‘yong prevailing southwest monsoon ang nakikita nating hangin, so it’s just around the corner at pati din po sa distribution ng ulan. So maybe first week ng June? Basta first half of June posible po nating maranasan,” she added.
(So that’s what we are monitoring, but as of now the southwest monsoon is not yet the prevailing wind pattern. So it’s just around the corner, and we’re also looking at the distribution of the rain. So we may declare the rainy season by the first week of June? Maybe by the first half of June.)
Last Saturday, Pagasa’s weather forecast showed wind patterns and spectral models that indicated the onset of the rainy season, as the southwesterly windflow over the West Philippine Sea was observed.
READ: Easterlies to bring hot weather; rainy season nears — Pagasa
Solis said it is possible for storms and even low-pressure areas to trigger the habagat season earlier. As of now, Pagasa is monitoring a low-pressure area outside the Philippine area of responsibility, over 2,500 kilometers east of Mindanao.
“Ito pong mga nakikita nating pag-uulan at ‘yong pong formation ng low-pressure area, tignan po natin if this could trigger the onset of the southwest monsoon,” she explained.
(These rains that we are experiencing, and the formation of low-pressure areas, we would monitor if this could trigger the onset of the southwest monsoon.)
“Usually po, historically nakikita natin ‘yong onset ng southwest monsoon, it could be triggered by low pressure area or ‘yong bagyo,” she added.
(Usually, historically we can see that the onset of the southwest monsoon can be triggered by a low-pressure area or a tropical cyclone.)