Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — There appears to be no break from the humid weather even during the rainy season — and it’s bound to get warmer and drier in the coming months.
State weather bureau Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) is blaming it on the ongoing El Niño.
PAGASA Climate Monitoring and Prediction Chief Anthony Lucero said that during El Niño, temperature is higher than normal and rainfall is below normal.
The country will be feeling its full impact towards end of the year and early months of next year.
PAGASA said more than half of the country will suffer from the dry spell as it expects a substantial amount of reduced rainfall of about 60 to 80 percent.
The El Niño may also hit the power supply in areas dependent on hydro-electric power plants, as well as irrigation for farms and water for consumers.
Lucero said that PAGASA expects that this ongoing El Niño will be among the strongest, if not the strongest.
This early, officials said the El Niño is already hitting some provinces.
The Local Water Utilities Administration said parts of Zamboanga and CARAGA region are suffering from water shortage since early this year.
Officials are also concerned about supply in Metro Manila.
The water in Angat Dam, which supplies the water in Metro Manila, is just slightly above the minimum requirement.
This raised concerns if it can be replenished to the normal level of 210 meters by year-end to ensure enough supply by next summer.
To conserve water, officials are looking into reducing the allocation for Metro Manila next month from 41 to 39 cubic meters per second.
