MANILA, Philippines — Sunny days, rainy nights.
Expect this kind of weather to prevail in the next few days due to the monsoon break or dry spell, which has not caused much impact due to the southwest monsoon, locally known as “habagat,” the state weather bureau said on Tuesday.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said this was also prompted by the onset of the rainy season, which the weather bureau declared a few days ago.
Pagasa weather specialist Daniel James Villamil explained that this does not necessarily mean the southwest monsoon has weakened or that the rainy season would bring rains all day long.
“We have this monsoon break which lessens the effects of habagat in the country,” Villamil told the Inquirer.
“That is why we experience this hot and humid weather by day, and thunderstorm occurrences by night,” he added.
For the next three to five days, Villamil said this was what the current state of weather would be nationwide while he observed that there was a monsoon break—a lesser impact of the southwest monsoon.
Southwest monsoon
Should the effects of the southwest monsoon get stronger in the coming days, Villamil stressed that the country’s western section will have to brace for more rains.
“The western part of the country might see increased rainfall should that happen. Although the rest of the country will also experience that, this would most likely be focused on the western section,” he said.
Villamil advised the public to bring umbrellas—especially at night—considering the weather outlook forecast to occur in the coming days.
In its weather bulletin, Pagasa said partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms are expected over Metro Manila and the rest of the country.
The weather bureau said this was caused by localized thunderstorms which could trigger flash floods or landslides during severe thunderstorms.
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