PAGASA Declares Start of Rainy Season in PH

Ever wondered why it started raining all of a sudden? It’s because the rainy season in the Philippines has officially begun, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).

The declaration of the start of the “Habagat” season was due to two meteorological systems that brought rain to multiple areas of Luzon and Visayas in the past few days.

Pagasa explained what happened in an advisory, saying “the presence of a frontal system and the occurrence of severe thunderstorms have brought widespread rains during the last five days in areas under Type I climate and other parts of the country. Moreover, southwesterly wind flow was also observed during the past few days.”

Moreover, the advisory added that the following events have satisfied the criteria needed to declare the start of the rainy season.

“This satisfies the criteria of the start of the rainy season over the western sections of Luzon and Visayas,” the advisory added.

However, the rain might still stop for a couple of days to weeks in what Pagasa called monsoon breaks.

“Breaks in rainfall events, which can last for several days or weeks may still occur,” the advisory added.

PAGASA also noted that several parts of the country are still experiencing La Niña, a weather phenomenon that is characterized by “unusually cold ocean temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific,” according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States Department of Commerce.

According to the PAGASA ENSO Alert System Status, the La Niña is likely to continue until August 2022, with a 59 percent chance.

“La Niña has slightly strengthened and is likely to continue until the June-August 2022 season (59% chance), with a 50-55% chance of La Niña to continue thereafter (updated May 2022). La Niña increases the likelihood of having above-normal rainfall conditions in some areas of the country,” the PAGASA ENSO Alert System Status said. (GFB)