Dry condition

The weather bureau just gave an outlook that in the next two months, we will be experiencing a dry spell. Albeit not the most severe effect of the El Niño, it is still next to deadly. With a dry spell, there will be little chance of rain. By little, expect drizzles and light rain showers that are not even visible on the weather bureau’s radar. It will be a hot and dry summer, so brace yourselves.

Farmers in the mountain barangays are already crying out for help; they do not have enough water supply. The spring and rivers that were their source of water have now dried up. Dams and irrigation systems that were manually set up are now dysfunctional with no rainwater. With no water for their plants, food supply is affected. Surface water sources for consumer use are also starting to dry up because of the extreme heat. We will be experiencing rationing of the water. Set your alarms, a timetable will be released as to when water will be available in your area. This will be done to regulate the available supply yet.

The El Niño phenomenon is natural, experts say. But somehow I am convinced it is an act of man. The extreme heat we feel is attributed to the many human activities that contribute to the greenhouse gases. These warm gases are trapped in the earth's atmosphere, making it hotter than it is supposed to be. The ice caps are melting and some animal species are dwindling. We say goodbye to the wildlife that we already know, we are not even sure if there will be any left for the next generation.

When will we stop these acts that contribute to the destruction of the earth? We have been so accustomed to using plastics, having poultry farms, and using technologies the leave a big carbon footprint. Although human ingenuity is welcomed in today's age, we are sacrificing the only place that was given for us to live in --the earth. It is sad that while we are exploiting it, we are also suffering from the ill effects of this phenomenon.

After the El Niño will be a surge of La Niña, which means there will be more rains than expected --flashfloods will occur and this will also wash away what farmers have planted. It will be hard for fishermen to catch and dams will be destroyed by overflows. There doesn’t seem to be a balance between both phenomena. It is quite unclear how to stop this from happening, but we can prepare and vow not to contribute more to the destruction of the earth.

We have no choice but to brace ourselves for what could be the hottest summer yet. We have to conserve water, use less appliances, and care for the environment.