La Niña alert up, may last until February next year

National

THE state weather bureau placed the Philippines under a La Niña alert even as e Tropical Depression Mirasol inched closer to Northern and Central Luzon.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) reported that there is a 70-percent chance La Niña will develop between October and December this year and could persist until February 2026.

The country’s climate pattern, associated with cooler Pacific sea surface temperatures, often brings above-normal rainfall and heightens risks of floods, landslides, and stronger typhoons.

“When the likelihood of development reaches 70 percent or higher within the next two months, we issue a La Niña alert,” PAGASA administrator Nathaniel Servando explained in a Philstar report. He added that recent monitoring shows further cooling of the equatorial Pacific, with climate models supporting the forecast.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the country’s rice harvest may fall short of earlier projections by 100,000 metric tons this year, dropping to 20.35 million metric tons because of the expected wet weather.

Meanwhile, PAGASA hoisted Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 1 over several provinces as Mirasol moved toward the eastern seaboard. Areas under alert include Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela, Quirino, Apayao, Kalinga, Abra, Mountain Province, Ifugao, Ilocos Norte, Catanduanes, Polillo Islands, parts of Camarines Norte and Sur, and northern and central Aurora.(Xienderlyn Trinidad, USJ-R Comm Intern)