MANILA, Philippines — La Niña, a weather phenomenon associated with more rains than usual, may develop in late September or October, state weather bureau PAGASA said Thursday.
PAGASA weather specialist Ariel Rojas said there is a 60% chance that the country will experience La Niña by end-September or October.
“Hindi naman ibig sabihin agad agad makatatanggap ang ating bansa ng malalakas na pag-ulan. Wala tayong makikitang malawakang pagbaha. Ibig sabihin lang mas mataas sa normal, di naman walang humpay na mga pag-ulan,” Rojas said in an interview on Teleradyo.
(It doesn’t mean our country will immediately experience strong rains. We won’t see widespread flooding. It only means that we will have more frequent rains than usual, but these won’t be ceaseless.)
The weather pattern may last through 2021.
“Normally, umaabot ng lagpas isang taon ‘yung pag-iral ng La Niña,” Rojas said.
(Normally, La Niña can prevail for over a year.)
According to PAGASA, La Niña is characterized by “unusually cooler than average sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific.”
In a statement issued last month, the state weather bureau said it has been monitoring the possible development of La Niña since March. — Gaea Katreena Cabico