Low pressure area spares PH, heads for China

A low pressure area spotted just outside the Philippine territory that was headed for China on Saturday will no longer affect the country, the weather bureau said.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said the low pressure area was expected to make landfall over southern China on Friday and eventually dissipate.

“It is moving northward and is no longer expected to enter the Philippine area of responsibility,” Pagasa senior weather forecaster Gener Quitlong said.

“There is a big possibility this (low pressure area) will dissipate within 24 to 48 hours,” he said.

As of Saturday, the low pressure area was about 970 kilometers west of Itbayat, Batanes.

The southwest monsoon that has brought rains over western Luzon since Thursday has weakened.

“The effect of the southwest monsoon or habagat has weakened but is still expected to bring occasional light to moderate rains with isolated thunderstorms over Palawan,” Pagasa said on Saturday morning.

On Tuesday, the weather bureau said the rainy season has begun, ending the strong El Niño dry spell that has devastated vast farmlands especially during this dry season.

However, Pagasa warned about a possible La Niña, which is associated with above normal rainfall, during the last quarter of the year.