Expecting a La Niña climate phenomenon within the next few months, three government agencies are working together to improve the system of releasing water from major dams.
The La Niña phenomenon is an unusual weather situation marked by unseasonal monsoon rains. This weather phenomenon has been blamed for above normal rainfall in many countries including the Philippines.
Weather modification by cloud seeding (International Geophysics)
To avoid worsening the situation when the La Nina phenomenon occurs, government agencies are amending the system of releasing water from dams, which could lead to massive flooding if done incorrectly.
The three agencies working together on this project are the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) and the National Irrigation Administration (NIA).
“Tuloy ang ating coordination sa kanila sakaling kailangan palabas ng tubig sa dams (We are coordinating with the two other agencies about the release of water from dams)," PAGASA head Prisco Nilo said in an interview on dwIZ radio.
Nilo said although fewer cyclones are expected this year— 13 to 15 cyclones, much less than the yearly average of 19— the La Niña phenomenon will bring in more rains. “Maaring di marami ang bagyo pero mas marami ang ulan pagumpisa ng La Niña sa ating bansa (There may be fewer cyclones this year but we should expect more rains in the coming months)," he said.
Nilo says the country is still feeling the effects of the droughts brought about by the El Niño climate phenomenon, characterized by very little rainfall, which ended in June.
“Ang epekto ng El Niño nararamdaman pa rin kahit normalized ang temperature sa Pacific Ocean. Ito pinagbabatayan ng monitoring ng El Niño (El Niño is still being felt even after temperatures in the Pacific Ocean had normalized. We are still monitoring temperatures)," he said.
“Hanggang ngayon kulang pa sa ulan (Up to now we still do not have enough rains)," he added.
Cloud-seeding to continue
Until the rains come, Nilo said cloud-seeding will continue particularly over the area near Angat Dam, which supplies most of Metro Manila’s water needs.
He noted the water level at Angat Dam had fallen below the critical level.
“Kung sunod-sunod ang bagyo tigil ang cloud-seeding operation. Pero sa ngayon dahil talagang mababa ang water level sa Angat Dam, kailangan meron tayong gagawin considering yung worst case scenario (Once the cyclones start coming, we can stop our cloud-seeding operation. But until then we will have to continue because Angat supplies most of Metro Manila’s water needs)," he said.
New radar systems
Nilo said PAGASA expects new Doppler radar systems to start operating in several areas starting August.
“Reliable estimate ito kung gaano kalakas ang ulan. Magandang info ito, maging batayan sa paglabas ng flood at landslide warning at makahanda ang ating kababayan at iwasan ang disgrasya (It will give us a reliable estimate of how heavy the rains will be. It will provide accurate information on floods and landslides, and will help people take the necessary precautions)," he said. –VVP