The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) declared on Friday the end of the El Niño phenomenon in the Philippines.

"El Niño in the tropical Pacific Ocean has ended, as both oceanic and atmospheric indicators have returned to El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO)-neutral levels," the weather bureau's final El Niño Advisory read.

It added that a transition from ENSO-neutral to La Niña conditions remains likely, with about 69 percent chance by July, August, and September this year.

With the termination of El Niño, the bureau's ENSO Alert and Warning System is now lowered to inactive (ENSO-neutral), while the La Niña Watch remains in effect.

Agri damage

The damage and losses to the country's agriculture sector due to the phenomenon are estimated to be P9.50 billion based on the Department of Agriculture's (DA) latest assessment.

An agriculture volume loss of 426,798 metric tons was noted, affecting the livelihoods of 175,063 farmers and fishermen and damaging 163,694 hectares of crop areas, of which 47,828 ha, or 29.22 percent, are unrecoverable.

The rice crop was the most affected, with damage and losses amounting to P4.60 billion from the volume loss of 185,561 MT, affecting 83,862 ha of farmland.

The DA said interventions worth P9.71 billion were provided to the affected farmers.

National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) Situational Report No. 53 for El Niño released on Tuesday indicated that 432 areas in Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Cordillera Administrative Region, MIMAROPA, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, SOCCSKSARGEN, and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) were put under a state of calamity.

La Niña watch raised

Meanwhile, a La Niña watch was issued in March, signifying that there is a level of more than 55 percent of its occurrence in the next six months.

Task Force El Niño spokesperson Assistant Secretary Joey Villarama recently said that the unit is already preparing for the beginning of La Niña, disclosing that some 4,7000 flood control projects have already been completed, while over 4,000 projects are still in work.