PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered the creation of an "El Niño Team" that will handle the government's response to the effects of the impending weather phenomenon, an official said on Tuesday. So through mechanisms of the NDRRMC (National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council), he (Marcos) specifically instructed us to form an El Niño Team immediately. He said the President wanted the government, specifically the Department of Health, to focus on illnesses that are usually experienced during the El Niño phenomenon. While an El Niño is not officially underway, Pagasa last March elevated its monitoring to an El Niño Watch, which means that there is a 55 percent chance of El Niño being declared between July and September 2023. If the El Niño phenomenon turns out to be "strong," she said this could be compared to the extreme rainfall that took place during Tropical Storm "Ondoy" (international name: "Ketsana").

Source: Manila Times April 19, 2023 08:50 UTC