Govt ready to respond to ‘very strong’ El Niño — Palace

MANILA — The government is well-positioned to respond to the effects of El Niño, which is forecast by the United Nations’ climate agency to be the strongest since comparable records began four decades ago. 

The Palace said Task Force El Niño had been activated by the Department of Agriculture.

“Kinakailangan po talaga ng sapat na pagpiprepara kaya ito po ay minu-monitor, patuloy po na monitoring ng El Niño conditions at ang pagprotekta lalung-lalo na sa ating mga magsasaka at, kumbaga, sa ating mga agricultural products na talagang maaapektuhan ng El Niño,” Palace Press Officer said Wednesday.

The National Irrigation Administration has also geared towards the management of water supply for the El Nino.

“Matagal na rin po nila itong pinaghahandaan kaya inaalam po nila at binigyan po nila ng aral or lessons, techniques ang ating mga magsasaka kung ano ba iyong mga dapat na itanim kapag malakas ang ulan o kailan dapat sila umani para hindi naaapektuhan ang kanilang mga ani ng bagyo,” Castro added.

PAGASA on Tuesday said the gradual reduction in rain volume would be felt after this Habagat season.

“Sa ngayon po talaga ay pinupursigihan ng ating Pangulo itong isyu about climate change dahil marami na po talaga ang maaapektuhan,” Castro said.

“Kaya ito po ang isa sa focus ng Pangulo para po makapagprepara tayong lahat, at ang susunod na henerasyon ay hindi na sila mahihirapan dahil sa ngayon pa lang ay nai-prepare na natin kung ano ba ang tamang mga hakbang,” she added.

El Nino will peak towards the end of this year — though its knock-on impacts for the climate will continue well into 2027, the World Meteorological Organization said. 

“If this trajectory continues, it may be stronger than anything since our monitoring began,” WMO chief Celeste Saulo said earlier this month. 

El Nino warms surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, bringing worldwide changes in winds, pressure and rainfall.

Heat in the oceans releases more slowly into the atmosphere, pushing up global temperatures the year after it develops.

The powerful 2023-24 El Nino contributed to 2024 being the warmest year on record, and “we should not be surprised if this record is broken”, Saulo added.

“El Nino is firmly established and will intensify into a very strong event in the coming months, with big impacts on rainfall and temperature patterns and associated risks of floods, drought and extreme heat,” the WMO said.