Wet and dry flip-flop

Typing this as I saw sad news and photos of what’s going on in inundated Philippines–Be safe, friends and family

Weather news is a must-watch for those who stay tuned to economic matters.

Commodity markets, for one, depend on good weather for production and transportation. In India, now is the time when farmers expect a good monsoon season for their crops, but there’s no adequate rain showering them so there’s fear of not meeting the expected supplies of rice, wheat, and other crops.

In the Philippines, the expectations are a bit different, because farmers do not want any torrential rains, but since the climate has been giving us what exactly what we don’t want, the typhoon season is on. Nonstop rain has been flooding the streets (and social networks), and the world is watching the country’s level of alertness for this annual typhoon visit. And of course, millions of Filipinos scattered around the world are concerned about their loved ones when super typhoons test the durability of houses and the people’s spirit.

In global news, the biggest news on weather is the drought in the U.S., particularly in California, where vast dry acres of lands have seen farm jobs dwindle and plants wither. Analysts warn the market that this could lead to inflation in global food prices as food demand is short of supply due to extreme climate conditions that the world is suffering.

Whether we believe or not that there’s a climate change, it’s important to move forward to find ways how to keep dry areas wet, and be dry in wet lands.

-Singapore (weather here is sunny–and breezy from where I sit right now, but few days back there were mild showers… sometimes, it’s a bit unfair how the Philippines serves as Southeast Asia’s wall against typhoons that form in the Pacific Ocean)