Prepare for El Niño, early and for the long term

THE BEGINNING of the year affords policymakers and executives the chance to look forward and plan for the months ahead. An urgent item on the country’s collective to-do list is preparing for the onset of the dreaded El Niño weather phenomenon.

According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), El Niño is characterized by unusually warm ocean surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific regions.