The state weather bureau advised Filipinos to take precautionary measures to minimize heat stress as the warm and dry weather condition is about to start.
In a statement released Tuesday, Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) administrator Vicente Malano said the cold or northeast monsoon season will likely be over by the end of this week.
Malano noted that the prevailing weather condition over the country signifies the eventual coming of warm and dry season.
He said that recent observations from several PAGASA stations showed a gradual increase in daily temperature over most parts of the country.
Wind and pressure analyses also indicate the slowly shifting direction of prevailing winds from northeasterly to easterly, the weakening of the high-pressure area in mainland Asia, and the gradual strengthening of the North Pacific High.
“In the coming days, the number of dry and warm days across the country will gradually increase, though isolated thunderstorms are also likely to occur, especially in the afternoon or evening hours,” he added.
Malano further advised the public to optimize the daily use of water for personal and domestic consumption, and prevent any accompanying health risks associated with this climate condition.
Meanwhile, Malano said that although the ongoing La Niña is weakening it may still affect some parts of the country, which may significantly result in above normal rainfall conditions for the month of March.
On the other hand, Department of Agriculture (DA) Disaster Risk Reduction and Management focal person in Western Visayas Jimmy Eledia Jr. said that for now, there is no much activity as far as rice farmers in the region are concerned since the harvest season had ended around January until February.
He noted that there were a few rice farmers who harvested their crop this March but there are also rice farmers, who from May to April, are practicing dry seeding while waiting for the rainy season.
Other farmers are planting alternative crops like vegetables and root crops.
“Wala ta ya problema kay patapos na ang cropping season kag daw pabor sa ya subong sa naga-alternative crops kon mag-ulan-ulan pa,” said Eledio.
As of now, Eledio said the DA regional office is preparing for the next cropping which is May.
This includes the continuous implementation of their different programs and interventions such as the Seeds Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, which is open for registered farmers, as well as the agency’s corn program./WDJ