THE Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) yesterday declared the southwest monsoon or “habagat” season is over.
The southwest monsoon is characterized warm moist winds from the southwest causing rains over the western portion of the country, PAGASA said.
The end of this year’s habagat season came earlier. Last year, PAGASA declared the end of the southwest monsoon on October 12.
“Recent analyses showed a significant weakening of the southwest monsoon over the past few days,” PAGASA administrator Nathaniel Servando said in a statement.
Servando also said they have observed the strengthening of the high-pressure system in East Asia, gradually changing weather patterns in the country.
“With these developments, the southwest monsoon season has officially ended,” he said.
“The country is now transitioning to the northeast monsoon season, which may be apparent and declared in the coming weeks,” he also said.
PAGASA said the northeast monsoon, or “amihan,” season is characterized by cold winds from the northeast that bring rains to the eastern side of the country.
Meanwhile, PAGASA is monitoring a low pressure area (LPA) and a tropical depression inside and outside the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR).
The LPA, embedded in the inter-tropical convergence zone (ITCZ), was some 165 km west northwest of Coron, Palawan, or inside the PAR, as of 3 a.m. yesterday.
“Based on our data and analysis, the low pressure area that we are monitoring has a small chance of developing into a tropical depression,” said PAGASA weather specialist Aldczar Aurelio in a public weather forecast.
The LPA and the ITCZ are bringing cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms in the Bicol and Mimaropa regions and in the provinces of Quezon, Rizal and Batangas, said PAGASA weather specialist Veronica Torres.
Meanwhile, the tropical depression outside the PAR was some 2,540 km east of extreme northern Luzon as of 3 a.m. yesterday. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 55 kph near the center.
Aurelio said the tropical depression is not expected to enter the PAR, noting that its track is northward.
The country’s last tropical cyclone, super typhoon “Julian,” has affected 91,871 families or 317,671 persons in Ilocos region, Cagayan Valley region, and Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).
Julian also left five people dead — two in Ilocos Norte (both drowning), two in Ilocos Sur (both drowning) and one in Cagayan (electrocution).
AGRI DAMAGE
The Department of Agriculture’s said initial cost of damage to the agriculture sector in four regions — CAR, Ilocos, and Cagayan Valley and Central Luzon — was at P607.38 million as of 8 a.m. yesterday.
The figure is up by 26.2 percent from Thursday’s P481.27 million.
The DA said the cost of damage is equivalent to 25,407 metric tons (MT) of goods tended by 33,110 farmers and fisherfolk in 17,344 hectares of affected areas.
Bulk of recorded damage is from rice at P427.65 million equivalent to 21,875 MT followed by P92.68 million of irrigation facilities and another P38.95 million from 2,778 MT of corn.
The DA also said P31.13 million worth of 755 MT of high-value crops was reported damaged along with P13.22 million of other farm infrastructure and P3.76 million worth of 1,558 heads of livestock and poultry.
DA said among forms of assistance available for distribution to affected farmers and fishers are P166.67 million worth of agricultural inputs including bags of rice, corn and vegetable seeds as well as bio-control measures.
The agency added there is also the Survival and Recovery Loan Program from the Agricultural Credit Policy Council with loanable amount of up to P25,000 payable in three years at zero interest; quick response fund for the rehabilitation of affected areas; and indemnification from the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. — With Jed Macapagal