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13
Reaching out and increasing awareness
Table 1. El Niño and La Niña episodes during the past decade
Period Event Category
May 1994 – April 1995 El Niño weak to moderate
October 1995 – April 1996 La Niña weak
June 1997 – May 1998 El Niño strong
August 1998 – July 2000 La Niña moderate to strong
November 2000 – March 2001 La Niña moderate
June 2002 – April 2003 El Niño weak to moderate
August 2004 – March 2005 El Niño weak
Source of data: Climate Prediction Center – National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (CPC-NOAA), 2006
Reaching out to local population
on seasonal climate information
Part of the information dissemination activity of
the project funded by the Australian Centre for
International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) on
seasonal climate forecasts (SCFs) was a seminar-workshop
held on June 30, 2005 at the Leyte State University (LSU)
in Baybay, Leyte. In coordination with the Philippine
Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services
Administration (PAGASA) and the Philippine Institute for
Development Studies (PIDS), the LSU hosted the seminarworkshop
to inform the local people, particularly
members of the academe in the region, agricultural
officers, and other local officials, about the project and the
value of SCFs in their decisionmaking processes in relation
to crop production, especially in addressing the impact
of El Niño and other extreme climate events. The seminar
also aimed to strengthen the coordination and
cooperation between PAGASA and the agricultural sector
The seminar aimed to inform the local people, particularly
members of the academe in the region, agricultural officers,
and other local officials, about the project and the value of SCFs
in their decisionmaking processes in relation to crop
production, especially in addressing the impact of El Niño and
other extreme climate events.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). 2006.
ENSO cycle: recent evolution, current status, and predictions
[online]. Climate Prediction Center, National Centers for
Environmental Prediction. Available from the World Wide
Web:(http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/
analysis_monitoring/lanina/.
Philippine Institute for Development Studies/Australian Centre
for International Agricultural Research. 2006. SCF Project
Updates Vol. II Nos. 1&2, 2006. Makati City: PIDS.
Trenberth, K.E. 1997. The definition of El Niño. Bulletin of the
American Meteorological Society 78:2771-2777.
in order for the latter to be better served through proper
application of weather and climate information.
Similar to what had been presented in the first
Pulong Saliksikan held at the PIDS last April, resource
persons from PAGASA presented basic climatology
concepts and information such as Philippine climatology,
basic El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) concepts,
tropical cyclone warning system as well as a climate
outlook for the province of Leyte. After the PAGASA
lectures, responses from the local government unit (LGU)
representatives regarding their agriculture response
strategies to extreme climate events such as El Niño and
La Niña were presented. The LGU representatives
discussed the various measures they adopt under these
circumstances, as divided into the (a) predisaster phase,
(b) disaster phase, and (c) postdisaster phase.
A lecture on PAGASA’s climate information products
and services offered then followed, after which the
participants were divided into two groups and were asked
their assessment of such products and services in terms
of usefulness, timeliness, ease of understanding, and
comprehensiveness. Suggestions on how said products
may be further improved were likewise solicited from the
participants. During this portion, exercises such as the
plotting of a tropical cyclone track and interpretation of
certain/selected PAGASA climate information products were
also given to the participants. (SCF Project Updates, June 2005)