“We are already entering the last week of March but we are quite experiencing an unusual summer,” PAGASA acting administrator Dr. Nathaniel Servando said.

“We attribute this to the La Niña phenomenon — an unusual climate condition accompanied by intense rains — that gives unusual weather patterns in the country,” he pointed out.

“This unusual event may result in short-lived summer sometime in April because of the La Niña phenomenon,” he added.

Servando said PAGASA is close to declaring the onset of summer season because cold weather-associated northeast monsoon or hanging amihan has weakened.

During the past months, colder sea surface temperatures prevailed not only in the Philippines but also in countries across the Pacific, causing intense rains and floods in these areas.

Science and Technology Undersecretary for Research and Development Dr. Graciano Yumul Jr. also noted that they expect more typhoons this year because of the shifting of climate.

“There is a lag time of three to four months that is why we can still feel the effects of La Niña after it reaches a neutral condition in May,” Yumul said.

He explained that when the onset of La Niña event was declared in July 2010, “we experienced low water levels in dams, only 11 cyclones were observed, and only two of these cyclones made land fall.”

“La Niña started but the country was dry. It was only in November last year that we observed extremely wet eastern seaboard,” Yumul said, pointing out that there has been a pause in the effects of La Niña when it was declared last year.

“A lag time on La Niña’s effects may result in intense rains during the typhoon season, which is expected from June to August. The moisture content in the atmosphere is very high at this point,” he added.

Ellalyn de Vera, Manila Bulletin