Isolated rains to continue this week in Cebu but ‘weaker’ El Niño persists
Rain finally. After months of no rain, a downpour was experienced in Metro Cebu on Saturday, May 11. CDN Digital Photo | Brian Ochoa
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Cebu may experience a brief respite from the hot and humid weather due to the El Niño phenomenon as scattered rains will likely occur this week.
But the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration in Mactan (Pagasa-Mactan) clarified that recent rains in Cebu do not signal the end of the El Niño.
READ MORE: More cyclones expected by end of 2024 due to La Niña, says Pagasa expert
Over the weekend, several parts of the island province experienced rains.
Jhomer Eclarino, weather specialist at Pagasa-Mactan, however said that these are only scattered rains and isolated thunderstorms due to the Easterlies.
“Pero taas gihapon ang time ng init ug igang (this week),” Eclarino added.
(But there will still be more hot and humid weather this week.)
Citing the latest weather projections and models from Pagasa’s head office, the El Niño, which happens when surface temperatures of the Pacific ocean are unusually warmer, continues to weaken this May.
La Niña in June
In addition, there’s a 60 percent chance for the La Niña, the cooling off the ocean’s surface temperatures and which immediately succeeds after El Niño, to start this June.
El Niño and La Niña are now happening on top of the effects of global warming. That can exacerbate temperatures, as the world saw in 2023, and precipitation can go off the charts.
Since summer 2023, the world has had 10 straight months of record-breaking global temperatures. A lot of that warmth is coming from the oceans, which are still at record-high temperatures.
La Niña should cool things a bit, but greenhouse gas emissions that drive global warming are still rising in the background. So, while fluctuations between El Niño and La Niña can cause short-term temperature swings, the overall trend is toward a warming world. / with reports from Associated Press
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