At Laoag City in Ilocos Norte province, farmers have started harvesting crops such as corn earlier than scheduled before these are laid to waste due to rising temperatures. Some fishpond operators have also been harvesting tilapia to avoid fishkill. Farmers have resorted to pumping water from the ground through shallow tube wells but acknowledge that the volume is not enough. El Niño conditions are expected to last until May, according to Pagasa. The phenomenon is characterized by unusually warm sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific.

Gamil, J. T., Alipala, J., Magbanua, W., Sotelo, Y., Cardinoza, G., Adriano, L., Visaya, V. Jr., Reyes-Estrope, C., & Arguelles, M. S. (2019, March 12). Provinces start to reel from El Niño. Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. A6.