At least eight provinces in Luzon are currently experiencing drought, the state weather bureau said.
More areas are also suffering from a dry spell or dry conditions with the ongoing strong El Niño phenomenon, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said.
PAGASA said drought, characterized by below-normal rainfall conditions for five consecutive months or way below-normal rainfall for three consecutive months, is prevailing over Apayao, Bataan, Cagayan, Cavite, Ilocos Norte, Kalinga, Palawan, and Zambales. The Department of Agriculture, for its part, reported that the El Niñophenomenon has caused at least P717,500 worth of losses at the start of the rice planting season in Zamboanga del Norte.
The weather phenomenon has initially affected 22.3 hectares of rice fields in the province, the DA said in its first El Niño bulletin.
The El Niño phenomenon is expected to persist until May this year, PAGASA said. Ana Solis, Climate Monitoring and Prediction Section chief of PAGASA, said it is possible that 2024 will be one of the warmest years for the country.
The Department of Energy also assured the public it is closely monitoring the country’s power supply situation even as it does not see any alert this year despite the El Nino phenomenon.
Energy Undersecretary Rowena Guevara said generation companies, with the assistance of the DOE and other government agencies, must ensure that their committed power generation projects will meet target commercial operation dates.