CEBU CITY – The anticipated El Niño phenomenon may last until the second quarter of 2024, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) Mactan Island office here.
Engineer Alfredo Quiblat Jr., head of the PAGASA Visayas Station in Mactan Island, reported that apart from the elongated period of the oceanographic and meteorological phenomenon, it has also been upgraded in November this year from moderate to strong.
“It was upgraded from moderate to strong because of the continuing increase in the sea surface temperature anomaly in the central-eastern Pacific by more than 1.5 degrees Celsius. When we say anomaly, it means the difference between the normal and current temperature of the seas,” he said during the Open Line News Forum here recently.
He said the category is designated as “strong” if the heat factor reaches beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius. He, however, said the intensified El Niño is a recurring phenomenon but does not have a pattern on when to occur in a given cycle of year or years.
The hot weather season, he said, would usually last from seven to 18 months. “Let’s all be warned that the impact of El Niño would bring a heightened possibility of below-normal rainfall conditions in many parts of the Philippines, including Central Visayas,” Quiblat added. (With PNA)