The weather bureau has confirmed that the northeast monsoon is over for most parts of the country with the dry season having set in.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration stated on its website that “the extreme Northern Luzon may still experience occasional northeast monsoon.’’
“With this development, the day-to-day weather across the country will gradually become warmer, though isolated thunderstorms are also likely to occur,” according to the PAGASA website.
PAGASA said that the coming months will experience prolonged dry spell and hotter air temperatures due to the El Niño affecting wide areas of the country.
So far, El Niño has impacted on many areas in Mindanao and Visayas, with crop losses amounting to P3 billion so far, according to the Agriculture department.
At least 18 provinces are facing the threat of drought owing to El Niño, according to PAGASA.
Weathermen urged the public “to take precautionary measures to minimize heat stress and optimize the daily use of water for personal and domestic consumption.”
They ruled out the occurrence of tropical storms in the Philippine area of responsibility within the next three days due to the dry weather, although the northeast monsoon could bring light to moderate rain in Nothern Luzon.