PHILIPPINE Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) weather forecaster Danny Galaty said there is no hope for rain this first quarter of the year.
“The cold front that we have is weakening, that is the only hope for rain [right now],” Galaty explained.
Temperatures in the city have shoot up to a sweltering 26 Celsius with a minimum 14 degrees at the mountain city.
Galaty said he assumes dam levels at Binga has reached critical level “the 565 meters they had the other day is most probably down already, the minimum operational level [to run the turbines] is 560 meters.”
Pagasa has not been updated by dam operator, SN Aboitiz Power Benguet who is in charge of twin Benguet dam Ambuklao and Binga as well as Magat in Isabela–Ifugao boundary.
Their turbines cannot work on a 560 meter elevation.
Galaty said cloud seeding operations in the past weeks are ill timed because of cloud formation not suitable for the mitigating measure.
Pagasa has monitored only five to seven towering clouds in the area which make cloud seeding useless.
Cloud patterns ideal for seeding have to be towering cumulus clouds, without these the clouds disperse immediately.
Galaty is hoping for rain in mid March, with rains going into a weekly pattern in April and an every other day shower in May but for now the region is into a severe El Niño phenomenon.