Wet holiday season seen for eastern Philippines as La Niña sets in
MANILA, Philippines—The holiday season will be soaking wet for the eastern part of the Philippines as the resurgent La Niña phenomenon saw its start in December, according to the state weather agency.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the United Nations agency that monitors global weather, officially declared late last week the return of a La Niña episode in tropical Pacific.
According to the WMO, the La Niña episode is expected to be weaker than the one the world experienced in late 2010, which ended in May 2011.
“This La Niña is expected to persist through the end of this year and into early 2012, possibly strengthening to moderate intensity. However, it is likely to be considerably weaker than the recent episode that was linked to flooding and drought in different parts of the world,” the WMO said in a statement released last week.
La Niña is characterized by unusually cool ocean surface temperatures in the Pacific.
It is the opposite of El Niño, which is marked by unusually warm ocean surface temperatures.
In the Philippines, La Niña is characterized by above-normal rainfall, while El Nino is linked to droughts.
Science Undersecretary Graciano Yumul Jr., who oversees the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said climate models showed that the La Niña would intensify from December 2011 to February 2012.
He noted that provinces facing the Pacific should brace for rainy weather similar to the one experienced in December 2010. That period saw the eastern seaboard saturated by rainfall starting December, with floods and landslides reported from Bicol Region to Mindanao.
“December 2010-February 2011 were La Niña months. [Albay] Governor Joey Salceda was evacuating his people in Albay on Dec. 22, 2010, due to too much rains,” Yumul said.
“January to February 2011 saw floods and landslides along the eastern seaboard of the Philippines,” he added.
The WMO said La Nina would persist until March to May 2012.
