‘Ber’ months don’t mean ‘brr’ season, says Pagasa

By: Dona Z. Pazzibugan - 10 years ago

Elderly women mix and match their homegrown sweaters with thick snow jackets at Burnham Park in Baguio City in January 2014. The “ber months” may be underway but the “brr weather” associated with the Christmas season may not be as wintry as in past years. PDI-NL PHOTO/Richard Balonglong

MANILA, Philippines–The “ber months” may be underway but the “brr weather” associated with the Christmas season may not be as wintry as in past years.

A weather specialist of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said the agency expects the cold season to be “slightly warmer” this year if the anticipated El Niño kicks in by the last quarter.

Pagasa has forecast that a “weak-to-moderate” El Niño episode will affect the country, starting from the end of the year until early next year.

The El Niño weather phenomenon is associated with a prolonged dry spell.

“Our usual cold season will be slightly warmer if we will have El Niño. We will still feel the cold season but it won’t be very cold,” said Anthony Lucero, chief of Pagasa’s climate monitoring and prediction section.

He said the southwest monsoon still prevails in the country, as it is still the summer season in the northern hemisphere, where the Philippines is situated.

“So we do not feel the cold weather yet, even if it’s the ‘ber’ months,” he added.

Lucero said the cold season will set in when the northeast monsoon starts around late October.

“By November it will already be chilly,” he said, adding that the weather bureau is anticipating the effects of El Niño around that time.

In its latest seasonal climate outlook, Pagasa said a “weak-to-moderate El Niño condition may fully develop during the season” from October to December.

It warned of generally below-normal rainfall in most parts of Luzon and the Visayas from October to November.

El Niño is expected to worsen in December, when way-below-to-below-normal rainfall is expected to be felt in the country, except in Leyte and Sarangani provinces and Northeast Mindanao region.

“For the months of October and November, generally below-normal rainfall conditions are likely in most areas of Luzon and the Visayas,” Pagasa said.

“Near-normal rainfall conditions will be expected over Cagayan, Camarines Norte, Albay, Eastern and Central Visayas and most areas of Mindanao,” it added.