Monday, December 17, 2007 'New equipment will help improve Pagasa' By Elias O. Baquero Sun.Star staff reporter
THE Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) has been criticized for failing to detect typhoon Lando that hit Cebu last Nov. 19.
Pagasa, which is under the Department of Science and Technology, is an agency that is important to both the government and the private sectors.
Oscar Tabada, the chief of Pagasa Mactan, sat down with Sun.Star Cebu to discuss the kind of service they give the public.
What is your function?
As a whole, Pagasa provides information about weather forecast. We issue bulletins in case of disturbance. But what some people do not know is that we also provide data to the airline industry. They need hourly data to be used in their flight schedules.
Do you mean Pagasa is not only forecasting weather during weather disturbance?
Yes. In fact, the Department of Agriculture is regularly getting data from our office to be disseminated to the farmers who, in turn, will use it to determine what kind of crops they must plant during rainy and sunny days. We provide data on rainfall and the temperature.
Are there any other government agencies that get data from Pagasa?
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources gets data from us about the heat and radiation of the sun so they may know the salinity of water.
How about the business sector?
The businessmen are getting our data about the climate especially on how many times it will rain in a month, how many rainfalls and how many thunderstorms in a year so they could plan their investments.
How can you determine whether there is La Niña or El Niño?
We can see it through the equatorial pacific study. If the temperature of the Pacific Ocean will increase, that’s El Niño, and if it will decrease, that’s El Niña.
So, what are the findings at present?
The temperature of the Pacific Ocean has decreased, so we have La Niña and we expect to receive a bigger volume of water.
Is this the reason why the agricultural sector needs to be updated on rainfalls?
Yes. Because if they are informed that we have La Niña, they will plant crops suitable for soil with more water.
So, it is a misconception for people to think that Pag-asa is only for weather forecasting because you are also studying conditions of the climate and share these with various industries in the government and the private sectors?
Yes. We read reports that Cebu City Hall will create its own weather forecasting center. It’s not that easy. Pagasa is mandated not only in forecasting weather or typhoon but to provide data for the use of government and the private sector including local government units.
Who need most your services?
I think the airports and the airline companies. Remember that every airport must have weather station. An aircraft pilot will not fly without the weather data supplied by Pagasa. Just Imagine if they fly in a route without knowing that there is a thunderstorm in that area. An Airbus 400 is valued at P4 billion with a capacity of 500 passengers. If it will be hit by a thunderstorm, kadakong disgrasya.
How about the shipping industry?
Masters of vessels ask daily about the weather forecast in order to know the areas that have big waves, the direction of tidal currents, and strong winds so they can avoid passing there.
How about the manufacturing industry?
They also need Pagasa data. Some firms at Mactan Economic Zone ask for humidity of pressure because they have equipment which will be destroyed if humidity decreased. With our data, they can adjust the temperature in the room where their equipment is placed.
What are the equipment used by Pagasa Mactan?
We have thermometers which are big like clinical thermometers that can get the maximum and minimum temperatures on a certain day. We have ambient which will get temperature every hour. We also have barometer which is very important because if the reading will go down, that means there is low pressure barometer reading. Low pressure means bad weather. We also have wind instrument. We have pyranograph which determines the heat of the sun. We have rain gauge that will get the volume of water.
What else?
We also have what we call “upper air” where we use meteorological balloons, big balloons with transmitter. Using it in one day will cost P20,000. That is important for aviation. That is important to know if a weather disturbance will get stronger or weaker.
Do you have radar?
No. We have radar before but it is now unusable. But President Arroyo has a program to buy radars and we hope we can have one in Mactan. One radar may cost P100 million.
How important radar is for Pagasa?
Very important. We can accurately detect the eye of the storm while traveling towards land, not only in Cebu but the whole Visayas area. So, if a typhoon is located at Guiwan, Samar, we can see its movement and the intensity of the wind and the intensity of the rain.
Aside from typhoon, how can radar be of use?
Anybody may call Pagasa during the day and ask for a weather forecast because they have outdoor activity at nighttime. We will ask the location of the planned activity and look at the radar to determine whether the clouds will bring rain or not. We can also use that for aviation purposes.
When was the last time Pagasa Mactan had radar?
We had one in 1972, but it became unusable in 1989. We only rely on the radar which is located at Guiwan, Samar. But that radar is already 12 years old. Radar has a lifespan of from seven to eight years. We are thankful that the radar in Guiwan still functions.
Can you decide on procurement of equipment?
No. All the procurement, big and small, is centralized. The decision will come from our central office in Manila. We can only recommend what equipment we need.
Do you have new equipment?
We have satellite equipment installed last October and operational today (Dec. 6, 2007). It can help us in forecasting rains in the whole Central Visayas. This will improve our services.
