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Strengthened El Niño to last till 2010 - Pagasa


After the heavy rains brought by tropical storm "Ondoy" (Ketsana) last September 26, the country is in for a dry spell with El Niño strengthening and lasting through the first quarter of 2010, state weather forecasters said. The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) also said at least two to three more cyclones are to enter the country before yearend. "Based on the latest observations and international forecast models, El Niño is expected to strengthen and last through the first quarter of 2010," it said. El Niño is a weather phenomenon characterized by little rain. Pagasa said slightly warmer than normal air temperatures would be felt in most parts of the country. It said temperature is predicted to range from 22°C to 32°C over the lowlands of Luzon, 15°C to 24°C in the mountainous areas of Luzon, 20°C to 31°C for Visayas, 22°C to 32°C in the lowlands of Mindanao and 19°C to 28°C in the mountainous areas of Mindanao. "(All) concerned government agencies are advised to continue implementing appropriate measures to mitigate the potential adverse impacts of El Niño on agriculture, water resources, hydropower generation, health and sanitation, and other sectors," it said. Pagasa said that for October, rainfall is forecast to be below normal in most parts of northern and Central Luzon, western Visayas, Palawan, and some portions of Southern Mindanao. But it said Southern Luzon, Bicol region including Metro Manila would likely have near normal to above normal rainfall conditions. The rest of the country is expected to experience near normal rainfall conditions, Pagasa added. "Weather systems that will likely affect the country are the northeast monsoon, the inter-tropical convergence zone, the tail end of the cold front, the easterly wave, the ridge of high pressure area, and the occurrence of two or three tropical cyclones," it said. Pagasa said sea surface temperature has been at least one degree Celsius above-average across much of the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean. It noted that in September, the weather systems that affected the country were the southwest monsoon, active low pressure areas, Intertropical convergent zone, ridge of a high pressure area, and five cyclones: "Labuyo," "Maring," "Nando," "Ondoy," and "Pepeng." "Ondoy" brought heavy rains with 455 mm. of 24-hour rain "that exceeded the normal rainfall for the month. Widespread flooding was experienced over large areas including NCR, central and southern Luzon." Major portions of Luzon experienced above to near normal rainfall condition, including some areas in western part of Mindanao. Also in September, most areas of western Visayas including Leyte province experienced near to above rainfall condition, while Samar province, most areas of northern and southern Mindanao experienced below normal rainfall condition. Below-normal rainfall condition were also observed over the provinces of Capiz and Misamis Oriental for two consecutive months, Pagasa said. - GMANews.TV

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