Strong El Niño to bring drought across Philippines by March
Philippine officials warn that a strong El Niño event is expected to cause widespread drought across the country by March 2027. The government is urging water conservation and preparing food stockpiles to mitigate the impact on agriculture and water supplies.
Why it matters
Severe climate events threaten food security and water stability in developing nations, requiring significant long-term resource management.
ALL PHILIPPINE provinces are expected to experience drought conditions by the end of March 2027 amid a strong El Niño, of ficials said on Monday, urging people to start conserving water.
At a Palace press briefing, officials outlined a multi-agency response to mitigate the impact of a strong El Niño, relying heavily on voluntary water conservation, adequate national food stockpiles and funding that has so far been only partly released.
“How we will be affected by it is dependent on how much preparation we have and the conservation of water that we will do,” said Department of Science and Technology Secretary Renato U. Solidum, Jr.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said the El Niño could become “very strong” between now until December 2026 and persist through the first half of 2027.
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