The country will continually experience the impact of El Niño until August, even with the onset of La Niña looming in July of this year.

Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Secretary Renato Solidum stated from his office in Taguig City that this April, 48 provinces will be affected by severe drought and heat, with no rainfall in an additional 24 provinces.

By May, the number of provinces affected by the intense drought will rise to 54, and 10 will face a dry spell.

"So, almost the same if you combine both the drought and a dry spell but the drought-affected provinces will continue to persist based on DOST-PAGASA's outlook - 25 by June, 23 by July and 10 by August,'' Solidum reported.

According to Solidum, some provinces will be impacted by a combination of El Niño and the onset of La Niña.

"Although the El Niño will transition to neutral by the April, May, June 2024 season, there is also an increasing probability of La Niña at 62% in the June, July, August season. Hence, we need to continue operations for El Niño preparedness but also keep in mind that we need to prepare for La Niña in the second half of the year,'' Solidum added.

The El Niño phenomenon is characterized by abnormal warming of the surface temperature of the sea in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean and infrequent rainfall.

On the other hand, La Niña involves higher than normal rainfall that can potentially lead to flooding and landslides.

Meanwhile, DOST has developed the El Niño Southern Oscillation platform that responds to five sectors such as food, water, health, public safety, and energy.

''The public can actually look at the platform to know more about these different sectors, what the government agencies are doing. But they can also look at information materials that can help them prepare for El Niño and later on, La Niña and to make sure that they contribute to the preparedness of their communities for these hazards,'' Solidum explained.

The El Niño phenomenon began on July 4 of last year.

(Photo from the Philippine News Agency)