Southwest Monsoon Weakens, Lighter Rains Expected Across Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — The southwest monsoon, or habagat, may bring lighter rains in some areas across the country as it weakens on Friday, Sept. 11, the state weather bureau said. Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) weather specialist Leanne Loreto said in its 5 a.m. weather advisory that the effects of the southwest monsoon may weaken starting Friday. “Good news for our fellow citizens here in Luzon, as the southwest monsoon weakens and will continue to weaken over the weekend,” she said. The southwest monsoon may bring between 50 and 100 millimeters of rain over Pangasinan, La Union, Benguet, Zambales, and Bataan, according to Pagasa. Gloomy skies with scattered rains may prevail over Metro Manila, the rest of Luzon, Western Visayas, and Northern Samar due to the habagat. “In other parts of Luzon, we will still experience cloudy weather, but there will be longer periods where the sun will shine through,” she reported. Meanwhile, a low-pressure area (LPA) is being monitored 900 kilometers (km) west of Southwestern Luzon. It has a medium chance of developing into a tropical depression within the next 24 hours, according to Pagasa. “We expect this LPA to move away from the country, pulling the southwest monsoon along with it. It is moving in a west-northwestward direction, and we anticipate it will head toward northern Vietnam,” Loreto said. A second LPA was estimated 2, 145 km east of Eastern Visayas and has a low chance to develop into a tropical cyclone within the next 24 hours. “However, we expect it to continue moving west-northwestward over the weekend and potentially enter the area of responsibility,” she added. /das