PAGASA: Mercury rising to continue

CEBU, Philippines - Despite the expected entry of the second tropical storm this year in the Philippine Area of Responsibility, Cebu and Central Visayas region will continue to experience rising temperature.

“Layo ra man kaayo siya tua ra sa Central Luzon. Si Betty, inig duol niya sa Philippine landmass mu-weaken siya from tropical storm to tropical depression. Ang condition sa weather dinhi sa atoa init gihapon kaayo,” PAGASA Visayas director Oscar Tabada said.

Tropical cyclone “Betty” has slowed down and did not enter PAR yesterday afternoon as predicted in earlier forecast.

For the month of March, the hottest temperature recorded by PAGASA Mactan was 32 degrees Celsius, while the average temperature for the month is at 29.7 degrees Celsius.

“Init gyud kaayo karon. Nihit kaayo ang uwan. Gikan lang ko sa Palawan. Once ra nag-uwan didto for the month of February. For March, wala pa gyud miuwan,” Tabada said.

Doppler radar

After having a defective part last year, the P100 million worth Doppler Radar in PAGASA Mactan has been running smoothly so far.

The Cebu radar unit was purchased from Alabama, United States of America. The replacement unit for the Doppler radar in Guiuan, Eastern Samar has arrived this month. Tabada said fixing and installation will take up to nine months.

The P600 million worth Guiuan radar was completely destroyed by super typhoon Yolanda in November 2013.

 The original and replacement radars were both donated by the Japanese government through a grant to help the Philippines mitigate the effects of climate change.

Tabada said that the mild El Niño will last until middle of the year.— (FREEMAN)