Pagasa warns of drought in Metro Manila and 24 provinces<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said that Camarines Norte will experience drought conditions by end-December, while Metro Manila and 23 provinces mostly in the western seaboard of Luzon (marked in orange on the map) will experience drought by end-January. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition, Cagayan, Batanes, and Cavite, much of central and western Visayas, as well as western and southern Mindanao will experience dry conditions in the same period. Pagasa defines \u201cdry condition\u201d as a period where rainfall is 40-80% below normal for two consecutive months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Less production from hydropower projects<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Aboitiz Power Corp. (AP)<\/strong> said that energy production from its hydropower projects tend to decrease by around 26% during El Ni\u00f1o. AP has large hydro facilities in Benguet, Isabela, and Ifugao, which are all provinces that are expected to experience drought by end of January next year. It also has run-of-river hydro facilities in Benguet, Davao, and Bukidnon, with the last two areas expected to experience dry conditions in the same period. The company\u2019s net attributable capacity for all hydropower projects amounts to around 472 MW, or a little more than half of its total net attributable capacity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Water concessionaires also expected to suffer<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Metro Manila\u2019s two water concessionaires, Manila Water Corp. (MWC) <\/strong>and DMC\/MPI\u2019s Maynilad Water, are also expected to see a drop in revenues as water levels go down in their reservoirs. The National Water Resources Board (NWRB) has already said that it will reduce the water allocation of the two concessionaires from 50 cubic meters\/second to 48 cubic meters\/second once the water level in Angat Dam falls below its operating level of 180 meters. The dam\u2019s water level as of Thursday is 180.89 meters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Agricultural output also to be affected<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Food inflation may see an uptick as supply tightens due to drought in the rice and vegetable producing regions of Central Luzon and the Cordilleras. Dry conditions in sugar producing regions in Southwest Luzon and Western Visayas could also result in lower harvest and drive sugar prices higher. Agricultural export volumes could also be hit due to dry conditions in Mindanao, which is the main source of our country\u2019s high-value fruit exports like pineapples and bananas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Overall, the onset of El Ni\u00f1o will be hitting us on multiple fronts: corporate profits of certain companies, as well as some economic indicators like inflation and balance of payments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n