MANILA, PHILIPPINES — The rainy season officially began in the Philippines on Wednesday, May 18, 2022 according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).
The agency made the announcement in a statement after recently recording the presence of a frontal system and severe thunderstorms.
“The presence of a frontal system and the occurrence of severe thunderstorms have brought widespread rains during the last five days in areas under Type I climate and other parts of the country. Moreover, southwesterly wind flow was also observed during the past few days. This satisfies the criteria of the start of the rainy season over the western sections of Luzon and Visayas,” said PAGASA.
It also stated that intermittent rain from the Southwest Monsoon will begin to affect Metro Manila and the western parts of the country. Monsoon breaks that last several days or weeks are also possible.
The ongoing La Niña may continue to affect several parts of the country, increasing the likelihood of above-normal rainfall in the coming months, according to the report.
The agency added that it will continue to monitor the day-to-day weather and long-term climate situation, and also provide updates when significant changes occur.
The rest of the country will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms, with flash floods or landslides possible during severe thunderstorms.
The wind speed forecast for extreme northern Luzon would be moderate to strong moving northeast, while moderate to rough for coastal water conditions.
Meanwhile, the rest of the country will experience light to moderate wind speeds and slight to moderate for coastal water conditions.
So far in 2022, the Philippines has only experienced two tropical cyclones: Tropical Storm Agaton (Megi) and Typhoon Basyang (Malakas), both in April.
Agaton remained inside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR), killing 214 people, the majority of whom were from Eastern Visayas. It also caused damage to agriculture worth P2.26 billion and infrastructure worth P6.95 million.
Basyang was only inside PAR for three hours and brought no effect on the country.
The Philippines experiences 20 tropical cyclones on average per year. – WhatALife!
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