Is it ‘summer’ yet? Pagasa sees warmer days ahead

Hot and dry weather is expected in Cebu as the Easterlies bring more humid weather into the country especially Cebu. | CDN Digital photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — It is almost that season when you would long for the beach or some cold drinks to keep your cool.

The state weather bureau said the temperature in the Visayas, particularly Cebu, might be warmer and might climb up to 32 degrees Celsius in the next four days.

This as the Easterlies, or the winds coming from the Pacific Ocean, have started to prevail over the country.

Angelica Orongan, a weather specialist in the Mactan Station of the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), said the prevalence of the Easterlies would be expected to cause higher heat indexes.

A heat index is the measure of temperature that the human human body actually feels.

On Sunday, March 8, 2020, Pagasa recorded the temperature in Metro Cebu at a peak of 32.4 degrees Celsius at 1:43 p.m. while the heat index was at 39 degrees.

The highest heat index recorded so far, Orongan said, was last March 6, at 41 degrees Celsius with the surface temperature measuring 32.2 degrees Celsius at 1:19 p.m.

“Ang nakaapekto sa atoa kay Easterlies. Mao ni siya ang hangin nga gikan sa Pacific Ocean. Mao ni siyay magdala og init so expected nato nga taas atong heat index unya mga thunderstorms, kalit nga mga pag-uwan labi na sa hapon ug gabii,” Orongan told CDN Digital via phone.

(What is affecting us are the Easterlies. These are the winds from the Pacific Ocean that are bringing the heat. So it is expected that our heat index will rise and there will be thunderstorms as well. There will be sudden rains especially during the afternoon or evening.)

Is it ‘summer’ yet?

Since the Philippines is a tropical country, “summer” is not among the seasons here. The hot and dry season, however, has “almost arrived.” 

“Wala pa tay official start sa hot and dry season [but this may be a sign.] Labi na gyud nga ang atong hangin karon gapuli-puli siya between northeast and Easterlies. Matawag nato nga transition pa ta,” Orongan explained.

(We have not officially declared the start of the hot and dry season yet, but this may be a sign especially that the northeast and easterly winds are taking turns. We can say that we are in the transition period yet.)

The country’s climate is generally divided into the rainy season, which lasts from June to November, and the dry season which commences in December and ends in May.

The dry season is further divided into the cool-dry season that spans from December to February and the hot-dry season which lasts from March to May.

Sea conditions

With the Northeast monsoon (Amihan) losing its effect, sea conditions in the Visayas would also be improving, Orongan said.

She said that light to moderate sea conditions might be experienced in the Visayas seas.

However, Eastern Visayas may anticipate moderate to rough seas around March 11 and 12, as the Northeasterly surface windflow may intensify./dbs