131 Philippine cities and towns on disaster alert

According to Philstar on May 1, these areas include 7 provinces whose entire territory is under a state of calamity, namely Occidental Mindoro, Antique, Sultan Kudarat, Basilan, Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte and South Cotabato.

People hold umbrellas outside Quiapo Church on a hot day in Manila, Philippines, April 26, 2024.

"According to the latest update from the Philippine Civil Defense, 131 cities and towns have declared a state of calamity. These areas are spread across the country," said Joey Villarama, spokesman for the El Nino Task Force and assistant secretary of the Presidential Communications Office.

Mr. Villarama said the impact of El Niño on 131 cities and towns in the Philippines varies and there are currently 41 areas experiencing drought. An area is considered to be in drought if it has experienced five consecutive months of below-normal rainfall or a 21% to 60% reduction in average rainfall. Some areas affected by dry spells are defined as having had three consecutive months of below-average rainfall or a 21% to 60% reduction in normal rainfall.

Mr. Villarama said agricultural damage had reached 4.39 billion pesos (1.922 billion VND), equivalent to 77,731 hectares of damaged crops. But 77% of farmland affected by El Nino could still be restored.

Commenting on the recent extreme weather in the Philippines, Vice President and CEO of the Climate Change Commission Robert Borje said: " The world is sending signals that something needs to be done and this is very alarming."

The Philippines could be in for scorching heat with the heat index forecast to soar from 45°C to 54.8°C in May, according to weather agency PAGASA. At the same time, PAGASA forecasts that the Philippines will be hit by at least 14 typhoons from June to October.

PAGASA weather expert John Manalo forecast that the intensity or number of stations under the danger category will increase and the temperature or heat index may also increase.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Center for Ecology and Energy Development said the extreme weather forecast should be considered an “emergency situation.” “This is already an emergency. It is not just hot, it is burning. That means special measures need to be taken to deal with this situation,” the center warned.

A farmer collects rice on the roadside on a hot day in Candaba (Philippines) on April 30, 2024

To address the situation, the Philippine government is considering artificial rain seeding operations, depending on the needs of the affected areas. Cloud seeding will be carried out in the Cagayan region of the Philippines, but this is not the main intervention to overcome the El Niño climate phenomenon.

"We have to meet the cloud seeding conditions to seed rain and that depends on the wind direction. If we do cloud seeding and the wind direction changes, it will flow out to sea. There is already a request to do it in the Magat Dam area (Luzon, Philippines)," Mr. Villarama said.

PAGASA reminded the public that heat cramps and heat exhaustion may occur in areas with dangerous heat indexes ranging from 42°C to 51°C. Heat stroke symptoms may also occur if exposed to the sun continuously. Villarama reiterated the call to conserve water and electricity.

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