El Niño may peak in April 2024, 63 provinces could be affected DOST
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 19) — The El Niño phenomenon may now reach its peak by April of next year while 63 provinces could possibly experience drought, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) said Tuesday.
The drought will come one month earlier than the previous forecast of May, with two less provinces to be affected, DOST said.
«So essentially, the effects of El Niño will still be covering the first and second quarters of 2024,» said DOST Secretary Renato Solidum Jr. during a Palace briefing.
«But the peak of El Niño, in terms of drought, will be April of 2024, which is slightly different from the forecast last week or two weeks ago, that it will be May.»
But the DOST said the drought next year will not hit CARAGA and some parts of Davao Region.
Meanwhile, Department of National Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will soon issue an executive order reconstituting the Task Force El Niño.
He said the task force, which will be chaired by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, will focus on security in water, food, energy and health as well as public safety.
«The President made this a presidential task force so that adequate importance and urgency is given the initiative,» said Teodoro.
For its part, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said it is monitoring water supply in urban centers and in the agricultural sector.
DENR Secretary Toni Yulo-Loyzaga said the Angat Dam in Bulacan, which supplies potable water to Metro Manila, currently has «sufficient» water supply with a water level of 212 meters.
She added that the government has infrastructure projects lined up for water treatment.
«So ang instruction din ng pangulo (The president's instruction) is to have our infrastructure investments be multi-purpose,» said Yulo-Loyzaga.
«So that one investment in a kind of infrastructure can generate several values, whether they are for flood control in the end, whether for irrigation, or eventually for water supply and distribution as well.»
Marcos earlier ordered concerned government agencies to fast-track the construction of water facilities to soften the
