Pagasa-7: Summer has yet to officially start
CEBU CITY, Philippines — If you think the heat’s unbearable, wait until summer officially begins.
The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Sciences Association in Central Visayas (Pagasa-7) said that despite the intense heat we feel, summer has actually yet to officially start in the country.
Engineer Al Quiblat, the chief of Pagasa-7, said the summer or the dry hot season has not began as the Easterly winds, or the hot wind from the northern hemisphere, has not dominated the country’s weather system yet.
He also said that a steady of increase of temperature should be manifested to constitute the change of season from rainy to summer.
“Karon ang amihan (northwest monsoon) pa ang nagdominate sa atong weather system. Dili pa gyod nato ni matawag as summer,” said Quiblat.
Quiblat said that the intense heat is due to the weak El Niño in the country.
Summer is expected to officially start on March 22, 2019 or the last week of March.
Quiblat reminded the public to avoid staying underneath direct sunlight for more than 20 minutes during the peak hours of the day from 12 noon to 3 p.m.
The temperature in March topped 32 degrees last Sunday, March 10, the hottest day of the year so far.
This is a degree higher than the average temperature for March, which is 31 degrees Celsius.
Once the summer begins, the heat is expected to rise up to 35 degrees Celsius with a heat index of 40 degrees Celsius.
Quiblat hopes that the Easterly winds, which is known to bring isolated and light rainshowers and sometimes quick thunderstorms, will ease the El Niño and replenish the water sources in the Visayas.
In March, only 0.4 millimeters volume worth of rain was recorded in Visayas, far from its average of 60 millimeters volume.
Quiblat said that on April, the average rain should be 40 millimeters and on May, it should be 100 millimeters.
However, because of the El Niño, the rain is expected will be lower than average.
For this reason, Pagasa-7 reiterates the importance of saving water and to use only what is necessary. /bmjo
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