What is El Niño, and how has it affected the Philippines? This interactive map developed by GMANews.TV shows its impact on rainfall and what to expect in the months to come. Use your mouse to drag the slider button at the bottom of the map back and forth and see how rainfall patterns changed (and are expected to change) over time.
Among the insights that can be gleaned from the map is that during the months of September and October 2009, when much of Luzon was drenched and devastated by Typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng, wide areas in central Visayas and northwestern Mindanao were already drier than normal -- among the first, barely noticed signs of El Niño. Significantly, in February 2010, when El Niño was already ravaging much of the country, the map shows that central Mindanao, including Maguindanao, received more than adequate rainfall. That augurs well for a region that is regarded as the rice granary of Mindanao. According to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), El Niño began as early as
June 2009 and may be expected to continue until around
June 2010. El Niño involves climate changes in certain parts of the Pacific Ocean, and takes place quasi-periodically every three to seven years. Among its many far-reaching effects, one of the most readily felt consequences of El Niño is the change in rainfall patterns —which affects everything from agriculture to power generation. Using data from the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), this interactive map shows the progression of El Niño in the country in terms of deviations in past rainfall patterns (for the months of August 2009 to February 2010) and projected rainfall (for the months of March 2010 to June 2010). We will update this map as more information becomes available.
Pia Faustino, TJ Dimacali, and Analyn Perez collaborated on the El Niño map. Sources: PAGASA US NOAA - HGS, GMANews.TV 
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