Hello everyone, I am Huang Zhengzheng, a reporter from China Central Station in the Philippines. Today, let's talk about climate change.
Philippine Science and Technology Secretary Renato Solidum said at a cabinet meeting of the Philippine president on December 12 that the intensity of the El Niño phenomenon has been escalating recently, with sea surface temperatures exceeding 1.5°C anomalously. The El Niño phenomenon has brought dry weather to some parts of the Philippines and reduced rainfall by 80%. About 65 provinces across the Philippines will experience drought between February and May 2024. This region accounts for about 77 per cent of the country's area. The Philippines is also likely to experience extreme heat in April and May next year, with maximum temperatures expected to reach 41°C in parts of Northern Luzon, while the perceived temperature could increase by 5°C to 15°C due to factors such as humidity, that is, the perceived temperature could reach 56°C.
The Philippines is hit by a severe drought (Credit: local media)
Solidum believes that in 2024, the Philippines will be severely affected by the El Niño phenomenon, and the government needs to be prepared for this. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. set up an El Niño task force to ask government agencies to come up with a coordinated plan that is divided into five parts: ensuring adequate water supply, ensuring a stable supply of major food commodities, minimizing power outages, controlling disease outbreaks, and ensuring public safety, such as preventing various disasters. But to achieve these goals, the Philippine government still faces a very big test.
Just on December 18, this year's No. 17 typhoon "Gelahua" made landfall near the Philippine province of Davao East with a tropical storm intensity. The typhoon left one person missing in the Philippines and affected more than 86,000 people. Videos released by local media show that the typhoon caused flooding in many places, rivers swelled, streets and farmland were inundated, and people had to live in resettlement centers to take shelter. While the typhoon may seem to have little to do with drought, the fact is that Gelawa is the 11th typhoon to hit the Philippines in 2023, which is almost half the average of 20 typhoons the Philippines encounters each year. The Philippine National Weather Service said it was the lowest in 25 years, when only 11 typhoons affected the Philippines in 1998. The decrease in typhoons means that there is a large change in the climate and a corresponding decrease in rainfall. First and foremost, agriculture will be affected. According to the data, the current situation may be similar to that of 1997-1998, when the drought caused by the El Niño phenomenon caused 800 billion Philippine pesos in agricultural losses.
Typhoon Gelahua caused flooding in the Philippines on December 18 (Credit: local media)
Agriculture is arguably the industry most affected by El Niño. This raises a very real question of whether the general population can still afford rice. I have been based in the Philippines for nearly 10 years and know very well the dependence of the Filipino people on rice. Filipinos can't do without rice three times a day, and the fried chicken of many internationally renowned fast food chains is sold together with rice in the Philippines. In 2023, the price of rice in the Philippines has also remained high, and the government even introduced a price cap policy for a time, but it eventually had to be canceled due to complaints from retailers. The Philippines is one of the world's largest dependents on rice imports, but this year the volume of rice imports fell to 3.3 million tonnes, down nearly 20 percent from last year's 3.8 million tonnes due to rising global prices. The Philippine Department of Agriculture believes that there is no shortage of rice supply, and in 2023, the Philippines will harvest at least 20 million tons of rice, and it is expected that by the end of December, Philippine rice stocks will reach 85 to 90 days, enough to ensure supply until the next harvest season from March to April next year. However, the president of a Philippine farmers' association warned that if international rice prices remain high in 2024, the Philippines will import less rice than in 2023, which could lead to another tight supply before next year's rice harvest.
Rice prices remain high in the Philippines (Credit: local media)
On December 13, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Marcos said at the inauguration of a small-scale irrigation project that the government is committed to ensuring water security for residents to mitigate the impact of El Niño. However, on the same day, the two water utilities responsible for supplying water to the capital Metro Manila announced that they would raise water bills in 2024, further increasing the burden on ordinary people.
The above is the observation of Huang Zhengzheng, a reporter from China Central Station in the Philippines.
The author of this issue of "Reporter of China Central Station Sees the World": Huang Zhengzheng, reporter of China Central Station in the Philippines
(From the Voice of China's column "The Reporter of the Main Station Sees the World")
Producer丨Li Tianjiao
Reporter丨Huang Zhengzheng
Editor丨Yang Bo
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