Much has been made about the unreasonably
hot and dry summer the Philippines had this 2019 because of El Niño. Some
harvests were affected. Metro manila suffered – and continues to suffer – the usual
round of water shortages that always happens when there is too much sun. Not
even the coming of rainy season has done much for quickly refilling the
critically-low Angat Dam which provides the capital and its neighbors with
water. It had been hoped that the entry of Tropical Depression Dodong could
help water the parched country some. But from its current movements, Luzon must
wait some more.
ABS-CBN
News reports that as of the latest report from the Philippine
Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA),
Tropical Depression Dodong is not going any closer to the country. Instead it
will exit the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) before the end of
Wednesday, June 26. PAGASA weather specialist Benison Estareja has noted that
Dodong has stopped its northwesterly progress and gone north then northeasterly
in its path. By 10 AM today, TD Dodong was at 705 kilometers due east of
Batanes, and moving 15 kilometers per hour northeast.
Thus far the still-ongoing El Niño
phenomenon has been frustrating the formation of tropical depressions that
could bring heavy rains along with the southwest monsoon. While Dodong, with its
maximum sustained winds of 45 km/h and gustiness of 60 km/h, is on the way out,
rains brought by the monsoon might still at least slow down the increasing water
shortage in Luzon. Light to moderate rains are being forecast by PAGASA
Wednesday on Regions IVB – Mimaropa, V – Bicol and VI – Western Visayas. By
Thursday, June 27, this will spread to Region III – Central Luzon and
ultimately Metro Manila itself. While Angat Dam is still iffy, the La Mesa Dam
at least is seeing its water level rise a bit more.
It was this quality of La Mesa
compared to Angat that PAGASA remarked on further during their report on
Tropical Depression Dodong’s current whereabouts. Assistant weather services
chief Renato Paciente said that its location in Quezon City enables it to
quickly fill with thunderstorms or monsoon rains, and runoff from its
watershed, a far cry from Angat Dam. Meanwhile, the weather bureau has spotted
a cloud formation east of Mindanao, 2,000 kilometers off, that stand a
possibility of developing into a new tropical depression. Time will tell if it
does.
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