THE strong El Niño is real.

This was the warning of state weather forecasters and the Local Water Utilities Administration as they advised the public to take the threat seriously.

The LWUA said that they had already instructed water districts to prepare for the impact of El Niño.

Earlier, PAGASA said that the strong El Niño may persist through January and may continue until April or May. 

An El Niño is a characterization of  warmer sea surface temperatures accompanied by average rainfall.

“Nagbigay na po tayo ng mga direktiba sa lahat ng water districts na kailangan magkaroon sila ng water supply inventory. Malalaman natin kung meron bang sapat na tubig sa kanilang mamamayan,” LWUA Administrator Vicente Homer Revil said.

“There must be conservation measures that we have to always conduct, [at saka] information drives.”

Revil also said that the water districts were instructed to minimize water wastage.

“Kumbaga ang magkakaroon ng leaks, o yung non-revenue water, ay no more than 20 percent. Direktiba din natin na magkaroon ng 10 percent conservation measures para sa paggamit ng tubig,” he said.