No water from your faucet? It could be El Niño

If one of these days you find your faucets running dry, don’t start blaming the water concessionaires or even the MWSS. Blame, instead, natural causes.

      

Scientists at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center are saying that the El Niño weather phenomenon that began this year could be “among the strongest El Niños in the historical record dating back to 1950.” They have monitored average sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean and said these could reach or exceed two degrees Celsius above normal, a phenomenon recorded only thrice in the last 65 years.  

      

What El Niño does is to cause unusually heavy rains in some parts of the world and drought elsewhere. It began in March and could last for a year.

      

For the Philippines, the prolonged El Niño is likely to result in drought that could lead to a drop in agricultural production and threaten food security. Metro Manila could also experience water shortages as the water level in Angat dam could go below critical levels due to little or no rainfall.

      

Malacañang, however, is apparently unfazed as it has given assurances that

the concerned government agencies are prepared to cope with the weather phenomenon. 

      

As part of government preparations, for instance, the Department of Science and Technology is already planning to conduct cloud seeding in parched areas to stimulate rainfall and irrigate farms.

      

Other agencies, Malacañang said, are also taking steps to address the effects of El Niño. Some parts of Metro Manila may require water rationing as dam capacity diminishes with weak rainfall.  

      

We started to grapple with a more pronounced El Niño weather phenomenon more than 15 years ago. But thanks to science and technology, we may be facing less problems dealing with it today. That's what the government tells us. But best to be prepared with more water containers. –End-

Image by: www.colorado.com