Conserve water, El Nino is coming – CDRRMO

The City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) reminds the public to conserve water, with or without the threat of El Niño.

Water conservation tips at home and in the offices have been shared by the CDRRMO such as the basic turning off of faucets when not in use; repair leakage on water lines; recycling of rainwater for plants, cleaning homes, as toilet flush and in washing cars, among others.

“We should all be practicing water conservation and water recycling in our households not only when there is water shortage,” said Louie Glen Lardizabal of the CDRRMO.

It may be raining now in Baguio City but an unusual warming of sea surface temperature along the equatorial Pacific (including the Philippines) that was established in March 2023 has further developed into a weak El Niño according to the weather bureau.

This increases the likelihood of below-normal rainfall conditions, which could bring negative impacts such as dry spells and droughts in some areas of the country according to climate monitoring and analyses by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

In a July 4 advisory, PAGASA Officer-in-Charge Esperanza Cayanan, said that El Niño impact is expected towards the last quarter of the year and first half of 2024 bringing dry spells in most areas of the country.

The CDRRMO’s Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Committee is already working to finalize a contingency plan for El Niño.

The contingency plan will focus on the possible impact of dry spell to the different climate-sensitive sectors such as water resources, agriculture, energy, health and public safety. – JMPS