Copa Paulino Alcantara semifinal cast complete

November 7, 2019 | 6:00 pm

PROTAGONISTS in the crossover semifinals of the 2019 Copa Paulino Alcantara were made known on Wednesday following the conclusion of the single-round group play.

Left standing are three-time Philippines Football League champion Ceres-Negros FC and Mendiola FC 1991 from Group A and defending Cup champion Kaya FC-Iloilo and Stallion Laguna FC from Group B.

Ceres (2-1-0) faces off with Stallion (1-1-0) in the knockout semifinals while Kaya (1-1-0) takes on Mendiola (1-2-0) in the other pairing. Both matches will be played on Nov. 10.

The “Busmen” barged into the semifinals by winning their last two matches after being held by Mendiola to a 2-2 draw in the tournament opener.

Ceres defeated Green Archers United FC, 4-0, on Wednesday at the Aboitiz Pitch in Lipa City, Batangas, to officially claim the number one spot in Group A.

James Younghusband, Mike Ott, Charles Barberan and Robert Lopez Mendy scored a goal each in the win.

Stallion, meanwhile, secured a spot in the semifinals by hacking out a 1-1 draw with Kaya at the Biñan Football Stadium.

The Laguna-based squad had a chance to claim the top spot in Group B with a win over Kaya but fell short on it after only managing to tie the defending champions when play concluded.

The draw, in turn, handed the Group B top seed to Kaya, which started its title defense with a 5-0 victory over Philippine Air Force FC on Oct. 26.

Waiting for Kaya in the semifinals is Mendiola, which dug deep to survive the Philippine U22 team to force a 2-2 draw, enough to see it through the next round.

Found itself on the ropes early after two quick goals from national player Chima Uzoka, Mendiola stayed the course and made its way back.

Hamed Hajimahdi scored for Mendiola just before the break to make it a 2-1 count.

Ash Flores then levelled things, 2-2, in the 69^th minute.

The teams tried to get the go-ahead but could not complete their respective moves, leaving them to settle for a point each, enough for Mendiola (five points) to edge the U22 team (four points).

Despite missing out on the playoff bus, the U22 team still made a good account of itself in the tournament which it used as part of its preparations for the 30^th Southeast Asian Games which the country is hosting beginning later this month.

The winners of Sunday’s KO semifinals move on to the finals set for Nov. 16. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

TNT KaTropa Team, KJ McDaniels empower communities through basketball

November 7, 2019 | 5:59 pm

AROUND fifty children and teens learned basketball fundamentals from the TNT KaTropa team during its Basketball Hoops Camp in Barangay Silangan, Quezon City.

With the support of PLDT wireless subsidiary Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart), PLDT-Smart Foundation, Amigo Foundation, and the local government, kids aged eight to 15 got the chance to improve their ball handling skills with no other than TNT KaTropa head coach Bong Ravena, consultant Mark Dickel, and players KJ McDaniels, Michael Digregorio, Marion Magat, John Karlo Casino, Almond Vosotros and Samboy De Leon.

“At TNT KaTropa, we always want to involve the community, that’s why we’re very happy to help teach the kids how to play basketball. We have very talented players in our team, and we really want to share our knowledge in sports, specifically basketball,” said Gabby Cui, Team Manager of TNT KaTropa and Assistant Vice President and Head for Community Development and Partnerships at Smart.

One of the telco’s many advocacies is to promote mental and physical fitness through sports development and other initiatives that are vital to nation-building.

“Sports teaches you a lot of things like teamwork, perseverance, and excellence. These are the same values that we at Smart would like to put a premium on,” Cui added.

GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY
Basketball hoops camps like this one are close to heart of TNT KaTropa’s shooting guard KJ McDaniels. Growing up, he watched his dad play basketball at the University of South Alabama. He fell in love with the sport at a very young age. McDaniels’ career started in the NBA for the Philadelphia 76ers, Houston Rockets, and eventually in the Brooklyn Nets. And now, he is making waves in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governor’s Cup with TNT, and sharing his talent with young, aspiring athletes.

“Playing street basketball with my friends when I was little helped me become the player that I am today. I wanted to give back and teach kids who share the same passion in playing basketball, to tell them to pursue their dreams, to stay focused, and to not let anyone stop them from achieving their goals,” said McDaniels.

For 10-year old Asher Cabangon, this was an opportunity he could not miss. A fan of TNT KaTropa, he was excited to have an up close and personal training straight from the pros themselves. “We are very happy that they were able to teach us. I learned a lot from them today,” he said in Filipino.

Asher and the other kids who participated in this event took home free signed basketballs, Sacks of Joy, and free shirts from Smart and partners.

The TNT KaTropa import reminded the young athletes to never stop dreaming. “Always challenge yourself no matter what it is,” he said. “In life, you win some, you lose some. Just keep pushing yourself and keep challenging yourself to be a better individual every day. Always thank God for giving you the opportunity to wake up and being able to do what you love,” he added.

Harden scores 36 as Rockets roll past Warriors

November 7, 2019 | 5:59 pm

HOUSTON — All-Star guard James Harden, Clint Capela and P.J. Tucker recorded double-doubles as the host Houston Rockets breezed by the short-handed Golden State Warriors 129-112 on Wednesday.

Harden paired a game-high 36 points with 13 assists to lead the charge. He and Russell Westbrook were a combined 0-for-6 from behind the 3-point arc midway through the second quarter before Harden caught fire and connected on his final four 3-pointers of the first half.

Tucker posted 22 points and 11 rebounds while Capela had 19 points, 16 boards and six blocks. All five Houston starters scored in double figures, with Danuel House tallying 17 points on 5-of-6 3-point shooting while Westbrook chipped in 18 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

The Warriors, down three starters (Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, D’Angelo Russell) due to injury, mustered an answer to every Rockets run until Harden led a 21-6 surge to close the first half. Houston led 63-52 at the break and opened the third quarter on a 20-8 burst that extended the cushion to 23-points on a Westbrook dunk, assisted by Harden, at the 6:43 mark of the period.

The Rockets shot 47.7 percent (21 of 45) from behind the arc. Reserve guard Austin Rivers finished 4 of 4 on 3-point attempts for 12 points.

Alec Burks, instrumental in keeping the Warriors within range in the first half, scored 28 points in 31 minutes off the bench. Rookie forward Eric Paschall added 19 points and six rebounds while Glenn Robinson III tallied 15 points and 11 rebounds.

Houston turned a 10-0 run into a 17-11 first-quarter lead, but the Warriors surged ahead 21-20 by converting a Harden turnover into a fastbreak basket by Burks. However. with Rivers shooting 3 of 3 from deep, the Rockets carried a 30-29 lead into the second quarter.

Harden sank his first trey with 4:24 left in the first half and hit his second soon thereafter. Westbrook added his lone 3-pointer of the night for a 58-48 lead, and the Rockets were off and running.

The Warriors clawed within 87-77 in the third quarter, but when Harden fed Capela for an alley-oop dunk with 9:05 remaining in the game, the Houston lead was back up to 107-86. — Reuters

Load management

November 7, 2019 | 5:58 pm

In September 2017, the National Basketball Association approved rules designed to prevent healthy players from skipping nationally televised matches. That the Board of Governors would thumb up the changes underscored the alarming rate with which otherwise-fit marquee names chose to sit out high-profile set-tos. Ratings were down, and with reason; casual observers stayed away because of a lack of incentive to tune in. And so the body, composed of franchise owners traditionally loath to disrupt the status quo, acted accordingly; in their desire to protect their principal product, they even granted the commissioner the power to impose fines of at least $100,000 to those found violating the spirit of the provisions.

If there’s anything the intervening years have shown, however, it’s that complications in implementation can override intention. The Raptors, aggressive in their enforcement of a load management program that kept Kawhi Leonard — their best talent and biggest draw — in the sidelines for a whopping 22 regular-season games, have become champions. In view of the successful bid for the hardware, the Clippers are now determined to follow the same formula when it comes to dealing with the Finals Most Valuable Player throughout their 2019–20 campaign. And, it seems, the league is unable to stop it.

Last week, Leonard was purposely not in the lineup when the Clippers lost to the Jazz at the Vivint Smart Home Arena. In fact, he wasn’t even anywhere near Utah. The cause of his absence: load management. Which could be excused given the schedule; it was the first encounter of a back-to-back set and the second of three outings in four nights. Today, he will again be inactive for the same, albeit tweaked, reason; as explained by league spokesman Mike Bass in a statement, he “is listed as managing a knee injury.” There’s just one problem, however; he’s apparently not injured enough to burn rubber today.

Why Leonard would opt to miss a potential humdinger against the Bucks, starring reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, and then suit up against the Blazers the very next day is anybody’s guess. Under the circumstances, it’s fair to say there’s something the Clippers — and, perhaps, the league — know that everybody and his mother do not. Meanwhile, ESPN will be hard-pressed to trumpet a contest whose value has been eroded by the absence of a big draw, and whose viewership will undoubtedly take a nosedive as a result.

Needless to say, the Clippers have defended their position to take care of Leonard as they see fit. Yesterday, head coach Doc Rivers acknowledged the frustrations of fans who looked forward to being treated to a potential Finals preview. At the same time, he insisted that “we obviously have to do what’s right by our players. We have to. It’s our duty.” Interestingly, his charges have not trekked to the court in three days, and, after their twin homestands, will have four more days off. So, yes, they could have chosen to get their leader to take a breather tomorrow instead of today.

Nonetheless, the NBA has taken the high road and accepted the explanation that “Kawhi Leonard is not a healthy player under the league’s resting policy.” It doesn’t seem to align with the argument put forth by Rivers that Leonard “feels great … But he feels great because of what we’ve been doing. And we are just going to continue to do it. There’s no concern here. But we want to make sure.” In any case, the effect can not be argued: For the second straight week, the resting policy is being followed in the breach. And it will continue to be unless and until the league decides otherwise.

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.

New features make IBM Cloud service of choice for highly-regulated industries–IBM

November 7, 2019 | 11:38 am

IBM today announced that clients in highly regulated industries, including Aegean Airlines, BNP Paribas, Elaw Tecnologia SA and Home Trust, are selecting IBM Cloud as their preferred destination for mission-critical workloads.

IBM also announced new capabilities that make its public cloud the industry’s most secure and open cloud for business, including:

- The industry’s only commercially available state-of-art cryptographic technology for the cloud called “Keep Your Own Key.” This gives enterprises the ability to retain control of their own encryption keys — and the hardware security modules that protect them — so customers are the only ones who can control access to their data.
- Increased bandwidth for its next-gen virtual servers on the cloud up to 80 Gbps, making the IBM public cloud hyperscale-ready. Designed so enterprises can access IBM public cloud services and scale their networks quicker than ever before, all within a controlled, secured environment that is suited for sensitive workloads.
- An expansion of IBM’s global cloud data center footprint with new multizone regions (MZR) planned for Toronto, Canada and Osaka, Japan by the end of 2020, building on the recently announced MZR in Sao Paulo, Brazil. These regions will help clients quickly deploy mission-critical workloads and applications across hybrid cloud environments, and gain access to a consistent set of IBM public cloud services – from enterprise-grade infrastructure to AI services.
- The same IBM Power Systems technology behind the world’s smartest supercomputers, Summit and Sierra, is expected to be available for select geographies by the end of 2019 in the IBM Cloud giving organizations a new, powerful option to begin developing and training their AI applications. IBM’s support of Red Hat OpenShift on IBM Power Systems reinforces our commitment to clients to provide a flexible, secure and open, hybrid multicloud platform for their workloads.
- New features to be made available for IBM Security Advisor to detect security misconfigurations so companies can better assess their security postures and take corrective actions.

IBM reported last week that its cloud business generated more than $20 billion dollars in revenue over the last 12 months. Today’s news complements IBM’s existing cloud offerings for private and on-premises environments – including those from recently-acquired Red Hat – enabling the company to provide comprehensive, open multicloud hybrid solutions.

“Open architectures, based on Kubernetes and containers, are driving the next wave of cloud-based innovation. That’s why IBM has just completed a two-year journey to enhance its public cloud on a foundation of open source software,” said Arvind Krishna, Senior Vice President, Cloud and Cognitive Software, IBM. “Today, we are going a step further by unveiling new capabilities for the IBM public cloud, designed to provide clients with the highest available level of security, leading data protection and enterprise-grade infrastructure to run Red Hat OpenShift.”

Aegean Airlines has adopted IBM Cloud to transform its internal business processes and further enhance its customer experience.

“IBM is the strategic provider that will support our determination and willingness to innovate and achieve excellence at both organizational and business process level,” said AEGEAN Group’s Chief Information Office, Aristeidis Kamvysis. “By utilizing IBM Cloud, we’re able to infuse IBM Watson into our applications in order to gain better business insights, while improving business operations in a reliable, scalable, and agile environment.”

With the consumer experience a top priority, banks like BNP Paribas must deal with the rapidly changing needs of customers, while also managing evolving security and regulatory guidelines, and a variety of complex data and workloads.

BNP Paribas is leveraging the IBM Cloud and adopting a hybrid cloud strategy to overcome these challenges and support its development and innovation within the ever-increasing need for security and compliance. This includes a BNP Paribas dedicated cloud based on IBM public cloud technology that offers the best of both worlds: the security of a private cloud, with the breadth of catalog and economics of a public cloud. Due to launch in mid 2020, it will provide access to the full range of IBM Cloud IaaS and PaaS services, including IBM’s Watson AI services, and will run in a Multizone Region dedicated to BNP Paribas in the Paris area to provide high availability and resilience. BNP Paribas will migrate its IT and applications to this dedicated cloud, complementing it with the IBM public cloud in the US, Asia and Europe. Together, BNP Paribas and IBM look to define and establish the cloud platform to help meet the regulatory and security controls facing BNP Paribas’ critical banking workloads.

“With the increasing regulation restrictions in the financial services industry, institutions have been historically challenged to use cloud, and public clouds in particular. By working with IBM, we are able to provide the innovation and agility that public clouds can offer, combined with the security necessary to remain compliant,” said Bernard Gavgani, BNP Paribas Group Chief Information Officer. “This approach enables us to innovate faster, provide a better customer experience, enter into new business models and tap into new technologies, such as AI.”

Together with IBM, Elaw Tecnologia SA, a company that specializes in the development of corporate solutions for legal management, created a new cognitive solution that automates cumbersome and high-volume legal tasks, hosted on IBM Cloud.

“The strict labor laws in Brazil result in a vast number of labor lawsuits. To streamline legal processes, we worked with IBM to develop a AI-enabled legal process management solution to improve efficiency and productivity for our lawyers,” said Guilherme Bordon, Chief Executive Officer, Elaw. “The solution is hosted on IBM Cloud to enable Elaw to access IBM Watson APIs, automate processes and provide a secured platform for confidential information.”

Home Trust, a federally regulated trust company based in Canada, recently migrated its IT infrastructure to IBM’s public cloud to transform its operations, while still maintaining end-to-end visibility and management over its platforms and applications. By migrating to the cloud, Home Trust now has access to flexible and scalable computing services, as well as access to higher value technologies, including AI, to digitally transform its offerings.

“For many financial institutions, upgrading core systems can disrupt underlying business operations and impact efficiency,” said Victor DiRisio, Chief Information Officer at Home Trust. “By choosing IBM Cloud, we are able to modernize our IT environment while realizing the economic benefits of cloud computing. It ensures that new solutions are immediately useable, rapidly deployable and can ultimately offer a superior customer experience.”

NEX 3: The next status symbol of power and luxurious technology

November 7, 2019 | 6:00 am

Like designer bags, Swiss watches, and bespoke suits, smartphones have become not just a necessity, but a symbol of sophistication, especially among individuals who have a discerning taste for luxurious items.

And the NEX 3, the latest flagship model in Vivo’s high-end NEX series, may perhaps be the next status symbol not only of elegance, but of premium technology, owing to its next-generation innovations and trendsetting design that gives a preview of the “device of the future”.

Built for those who demand the best smartphone experience, the NEX 3 harnesses the power of the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 855+ and 8GB RAM/128GB ROM to deliver faster cutting-edge performance and smoother multitasking capabilities.

Compared to other handsets in its price range, the Vivo NEX 3 might exude simplicity but it looks totally sophisticated and elegant with its Glowing Night-colored aluminum alloy unibody design that is rendered seamless with a notch-less and bezel-less architecture.

The NEX 3 also cleverly hid physical power and volume buttons from sight by using an X-axis Haptic Vibration motor and Touch Sense technology, whereby the unit uses haptic feedback to simulate sense of touch. In-Display Fingerprint Scanning also allows users to step into their mobile world both instantly and safely.

Matching the impressive style of its users, the NEX 3 also makes a remarkable statement with the world’s first AMOLED Waterfall FullView™ Display, stretching and curving the smartphone screen along its sides to offer its discriminating users broader, borderless views.

mobilFor a breathtaking visual experience, the NEX 3 also has 6.89-inch display with an incredible 99.6% screen-to-body ratio. At the back, a Corning® Gorilla® Glass 6, protects the NEX 3 from multiple drops, even at greater heights.

For those who not only go for amazing aesthetics but also top-notch performance, the NEX 3 sports an array of optics bannered by a 64-megapixel main camera, 13MP wide-angle camera and a 13MP telescopic camera that makes for premier photo-shooting experience as it makes “super HD clarity” as the norm for all photos. At the front, a 16MP Elevating Front Camera also paves the way for NEX 3’s perfect FullView™ Display.

With its ground-breaking innovations anchored on future technologies and trend-setting design that offers the best smartphone experience, the Vivo NEX 3 is definitely on its way to becoming a symbol of luxurious innovation. The NEX 3 smartphone is now available at all authorized Vivo outlets nationwide.

The Vivo NEX 3 will be available at all authorized Vivo outlets nationwide starting November 9, 2019. To check more details about NEX 3, visit https://www.vivoglobal.ph/product/Nex3

Cops face summary dismissal proceedings

November 7, 2019 | 1:02 am

THE National Police Commission has started summary dismissal proceedings against 13 rogue cops accused of recycling illegal drugs from a raid in Pampanga province in 2013.

The cases against the policemen may be completed within 45 days, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said in a statement yesterday.

“Pending the resolution of their cases, the respondents will be placed under restrictive custody at Camp Crame,” he said.

Mr. Año said new administrative charges had been filed last week after the discovery of new evidence by a review committee as well as by the Senate panel investigating anomalies involving the police and jail officials.

He said the cops could not argue that they have served the penalties for the 2013 operation. “These are new cases, hence, the suspects cannot contest them,” he said in a mobile-phone message.

The lawmen are facing administrative charges for mishandling confiscated drugs, dishonesty and grave misconduct for giving false testimony at the Senate hearing, among other things.

No administrative charges were filed against former police chief General Oscar D. Albayalde for lack of substantial evidence.

“Albayalde is liable for command responsibility, that is why he was relieved as Pampanga provincial director in 2014,” Mr. Año said. “However, since he already relinquished his post as PNP chief he can no longer be relieved of his position at this time,” he added. — Emmanuel Tupas, Philippine Star

7 Chinese face kidnapping charges

November 7, 2019 | 1:01 am

SEVEN CHINESE have been charged for the kidnapping last Friday of a fellow Chinese and their co-worker at an online gambling company based in Zambales, the police Anti-Kidnapping Group (AKG) said yesterday. The suspects, ranging in age from 19 to 29, are facing a case of kidnapping for ransom with serious illegal detention filed before the Department of Justice. They have been identified as Tang Rui Ting, Zhang Yan Feng, Chen Yi Ben, Xiang Qing, Shi Rui Long, Zhang Xiao Long, and Wu Fan. The victim is 27-year old Ming Xuangbo, who works as a personnel assistant at Ekxinimum Inc. AKG acting director Col. Jonnel Estomo said the suspects detained Ms. Ming at their office after she decided to resign upon learning that the company is allegedly engaged in illegal online games. The suspects demanded that she pay ¥19,000 (about P137,000) before she could leave the company premises. The victim has been working for the company for about a month with a monthly salary of ¥12,000. Ms. Ming was able to call a friend, who sought assistance from the police. The AKG raided the company’s office on Nov. 2 and rescued Ms. Ming. The suspects are now detained at the AKG headquarters at Camp Crame in Quezon City. — Philstar/Emmanuel Tupas

Nation at a Glance — (11/07/19)

November 7, 2019 | 1:00 am

News stories from across the nation. Visit www.bworldonline.com (section: The Nation) to read more national and regional news from the Philippines.

Q3 farm output growth fastest in 2 years

November 7, 2019 | 12:33 am

By Vincent Mariel P. Galang
Reporter

FARM OUTPUT grew by its fastest clip in more than two years in the third quarter, as increments in most subsectors offset a drop for palay which accounted for 15% of total value of production, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Wednesday.

The PSA said that value of agricultural output, which contributes about a tenth to gross domestic product and a fourth of the country’s jobs, grew 2.87% year-on-year in the third quarter, turning around from contractions of 0.87% a year ago and 1.27% in the second quarter.

It was agriculture’s best performance since a 6.2% growth recorded in 2017’s second quarter and the best third-quarter performance since the three percent posted in 2016.

Third quarter growth pushed up agriculture’s year-to-date performance to 0.77%, compared to the 0.14% increment in 2018’s comparable nine months.

That compared to the 2.5-3.5% target range for farm output growth under the 2017-2022 Philippine Development Plan.

“I think it is a very good start for a new administration [at the Agriculture department] and for new policies that affects agriculture sectors, considering that this is third quarter — usually we have the lowest output for rice seasonally,” University of the Philippines School of Economics Professor Ramon L. Clarete said in a telephone interview.

Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said in a statement: “We were expecting between 2-2.5%. This shows that the farmers and the fishers are showing resilient performance with the programs and projects of the DA (Department of Agriculture).

Crops, which accounted for 45.19% of total farm output, grew 2.01% in value last quarter but still slipped 1.64% year-to-date.

Volume of palay output fell 4.53% to 3.051 million metric tons (MMT) in the third quarter and by 4.94%to 11.321 MMT year-to-date, while that of corn production grew 23.47% to 2.723 MMT last quarter and by 5.94% to 6.321 MMT year-to-date.

“Corn was actually quite surprising,” Philippine Institute for Development Studies Research Fellow Roehlano M. Briones said when sought for comment, adding that “farmers are moving out of palay, so I think that accounts for the (palay) contraction…”

The PSA attributed the drop in palay production “to the substantial reduction in harvested areas in Western Visayas and SOCCSKSARGEN (South Cotabato-Cotabato-Sultan Kudarat-Sarangani-General Santos City in south-central Mindanao) due to insufficient water supply.”

“The same reason was cited for decreases in harvested areas in CALABARZON (Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon), MIMAROPA (Occidental and Oriental Mindoro-Marinduque-Romblon-Palawan), Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula and Caraga,” the report added.

The other farm subsectors grew.

Livestock production, which contributed 18.67%, grew 1.63% last quarter and 2.04% year-to-date. Hog output, which accounted for 15.74% of total farm production, edged up 1.96% last quarter and 2.54% year-to-date.

Poultry output, which contributed 19.44% to the total, went up 8.41% last quarter and 5.91% year-to-date. Chicken production, which accounted for 14.72% of total farm output, increased by 8.48% last quarter and 5.25% year-to-date.

Fisheries, which contributed 16.7%, edged up by 0.56% last quarter and 1.4% year-to-date.

Performance of Philippine agriculture (Q3 2019)

November 7, 2019 | 12:33 am

FARM OUTPUT grew by its fastest clip in more than two years in the third quarter, as increments in most subsectors offset a drop for palay which accounted for 15% of total value of production, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Wednesday. Read the full story.

Scientists predict El Niño in 2020 based on earlier warning method

November 7, 2019 | 12:32 am

BARCELONA — The complex El Niño weather pattern that can bring disastrous heavy rainfall and long droughts to countries around the Pacific — from Peru to Indonesia and Australia — will probably emerge again in 2020, researchers have predicted.

An international team of scientists forecast an 80% chance next year of an El Niño, which occurs when sea-surface temperatures rise substantially above normal in the east-central Equatorial Pacific.

This week they said their model — which uses an algorithm that draws on analysis of links between changing air temperatures at a network of grid points across the Pacific region — could predict an El Niño at least a year ahead.

“Conventional methods are unable to make a reliable ‘El Niño’ forecast more than six months in advance. With our method, we have roughly doubled the previous warning time,” said co-developer Armin Bunde, a physicist at Germany’s Justus Liebig University Giessen.

The term El Niño, meaning “boy child” in Spanish, was first used in the 19th century by fishermen in Peru and Ecuador to refer to the unusually warm waters that reduced their catch just before Christmas, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

The phenomenon occurs every two to seven years and typically lasts for 9-12 months, often beginning mid-year and peaking between November and January.

Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, director emeritus of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), said insights from the new method — which has been tested over the past few years — would be made available to people affected by El Niño.

PIK researcher Josef Ludescher said he would soon discuss the findings with the weather service in Peru.

El Niño often brings torrential rains in the north of the mountainous Latin American nation, with a high risk of mudslides, he said.

El Niño also can cause extended droughts in other parts of South America, Indonesia, Australia and Africa, PIK said. In the Indian subcontinent, it may change monsoon patterns, while California can experience more precipitation.

The new prediction method could give more time for authorities to prepare for such impacts, Mr. Ludescher added.

The team is now adapting the algorithm to be able to predict the timing and strength of El Niño.

In the future, a similar method could be used to improve forecasts of Asia’s monsoon, he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

The discovery of the new method was first published in 2013 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal — and the scientists have since been checking its accuracy.

They said this week it correctly predicted the onset of the large El Niño that started in 2014 and ended in 2016 and the most recent event in 2018, as well as absences in other years.

The next expected El Niño, due to peak in late 2020, could push global average annual temperature rise to a new record in 2021, the researchers said.

Air temperature rise lags Pacific warming by about three months, they noted.

According to the WMO, 2016 became the warmest year on record because of the powerful El Niño in 2015-2016, combined with long-term climate change.

Philippine weather and agriculture officials were cautious when sought for comment.

“Ang forecast kasi natin ngayon, at least until… May, June, July of 2020 wala po tayong nakikitang (we do not see) El Niño… wala pa ring (there is no) significant na probability of having El Nino… based on recent conditions…,” Analiza S. Solis, chief for Climate Monitoring and Prediction at the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), said in a telephone interview on Wednesday, even as she clarified that conditions could change in the “middle of May or June”.

Christopher V. Morales, director of the Agriculture department’s Field Programs Operational Planning Division, replied via text message: “We need the latest forecast of PAGASA on this. Depending on their data, we will come up with our analysis. — Reuters with inputs from Vincent Mariel P. Galang in Manila