President Marcos on Tuesday ordered the creation of an El Niño task force to mitigate the impact of the weather phenomenon that is expected to cause drought in 65 provinces across the country by May next year.
During a sectoral meeting at the Palace, the President said the task force will be led by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).
“We’ll have to organize the task force first. This is the time to put every condition together,” President Marcos said.
Based on the latest forecast of the state weather bureau, the strong El Niño present in the tropical Pacific continues to intensify and is nearing its peak in the coming months, Department of Science and Technology Secretary Renato Solidum Jr. said.
“Now, based on recent conditions, moderate to severe drought conditions are likely from February to May 2024. And by the end of May, at least 77 percent of the provinces of the country will have potential for drought – that would be around 65 provinces, and 7 percent will have potential for dry spell or around six provinces,” Solidum said.
Solidum said there is also a strong indication that the weather phenomenon would be similar to the 1997-1998 El Niño, which was regarded as one of the most powerful El Niño events recorded in history.
“So, we need to plan ahead and we should make it fast,” the DOST chief added.
Drought is defined as three consecutive months of way below normal rainfall condition (60 percent reduction from average rainfall) while a dry spell is marked by three consecutive months of below normal rainfall condition (21 to 60 percent reduction from average rainfall).
Mr. Marcos underscored the need to prioritize efforts and be realistic in tackling El Niño, which is expected to persist until the end of the second quarter of next year.
Based on the National Action Plan for El Niño, the government has identified five priority sectors: water, food, power, health, and public safety.
“The President’s directive would be to categorize actions as either short-term or medium-term. The short-term ones are those that need to be done immediately, the easy ones. We have to be realistic,” Solidum said.
“There are a lot of plans and things being done, we just have to make sure that the coverage would also expand according to the forecast,” Solidum added.
Despite the onset of El Niño, authorities said Metro Manila is expected to have sufficient water supply during the summer months.
The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System said there is no projected deficiency in water supply for the National Capital Region and neighboring provinces as Angat Dam’s water level stood at 212.5 meters as yesterday – higher than its normal high water level of 212 meters.
The Energy department said it expects no yellow or red alerts during the summer months as additional power supply is set to go online before the onset of the dry season.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, however, called on consumers to remain prudent in using water.
Ana Liza Solis, head of PAGASA’s climate monitoring and prediction section, said Filipinos should expect a large reduction in rainfall in the first half of 2024.