Feeling like a fried egg, lately?
As your phone’s weather app might have repeatedly confirmed, quarantining has been made extra challenging, no thanks to the punishing heat in recent weeks.
From Wednesday’s “dangerous” heat index of 53ºC in Butuan City to yesterday’s 49ºC in Cavite City, and 44ºC at Pasay City, the highest heat index in Metro Manila yesterday, suffice it to say, we’ve all been feeling it for some time now.
Read: Sizzling heat in the days ahead, state weather bureau forecasts
TINGNAN: Top 7 PAGASA Synoptic Stations na nakapagtala ng pinakamaalinsangang panahon ngayong Huwebes, 7 Mayo.
Panganib ang dulot ng 41-54°C na heat index. Posible ang heat cramps at heat exhaustion na maaaring mauwi sa heat stroke kapag tuluy-tuloy ang physical activity. pic.twitter.com/b6eLBQafkB
— PAGASA-DOST (@dost_pagasa) May 7, 2020
“The hot season started in April, but no we’re not currently going through a heatwave or a period of El Niño [severe drought],” Lorie dela Cruz, a weather specialist at the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) told Coconuts Manila over the phone.
The bureau has earlier dispelled that the country is experiencing a heatwave, and Dela Cruz said that actual temperatures have only hit 37ºC despite heat indices hitting upwards of 4o degrees.
“The heat index indicates the discomfort that the human body feels, this is the ‘feels like’ temperature,” she added.
While PAGASA nonetheless warns that these are dangerous levels to be out, the specialist tells us that as far as cyclical patterns go, the muggy weather came right on cue. But why does it feel a little like hell more than usual? When should you be turning off your air-conditioning to save money? When should you not go out so as not to risk heat stroke?
Dela Cruz fills us in on the details.
So why does it feel like hell all of a sudden? Are there external factors that are contributing to the heat?
It’s a cyclical pattern. Sometimes the hot weather comes in early, sometimes late, based on external factors like El Niño or La Niña [cold counterpart of El Niño, bringing severe rains]. But we aren’t experiencing any of those external factors. Based on our climatological record over the past decade, we’ve observed that the hot season usually comes from March to May. In this year’s case, the hot season already started in April.
But why did Butuan City clock in a 53ºC temperature on Wednesday?
That’s the heat index. The actual temperature measured by the thermometer was at 32ºC. But the heat index or the “feels like” temperature that’s felt by the human body is at 53ºC.
What sort of things contribute to the heat index? Does humidity play a factor?
Humidity plays a big factor. We measure for something called relative humidity. Our body relies on the air to get rid of moisture. When humidity is high, there are higher chances that sweat in your body will not evaporate into the air because our body releases sweat to ease the heat. So when relative humidity is high, you feel the heat more.
PAGASA records relative humidity which is measured by percentage, the higher the percentage, the higher the swelter. In Butuan’s case, relative humidity was around 77% on Wednesday. Yesterday, Metro Manila registered a relative humidity of 51%. So that plays a factor in the heat index.
Does a 53ºC heat index in Butuan City mean it’s hotter in Visayas than it is in Luzon and other parts of the country?
No, it isn’t, that’s an isolated case. There are parts of Luzon that also registered a high heat index, for example, Tuguegarao. In parts of Metro Manila, it also varies.
How does PAGASA measure actual air temperature?
We have thermometers placed at offices called a synoptic station. There are three main synoptic stations in Metro Manila. That’s the one in Science Garden in Quezon City, in NAIA [Ninoy Aquino International Airport], and another in Port Area. There are two thermometers per station which measure the maximum and minimum temperature in a particular area. We also measure for pressure; there’s a barometer for wind, rain. Every synoptic station measures for different parameters.
Majority of the synoptic stations are in Luzon, 36 out of 56 stations. Then there are roughly 10 stations each in Visayas and Mindanao.
When do we expect the hot season to be over?
We’re expecting it to end by June. That’s when rains may come in.
Are we expecting any reprieve this weekend, a cooler weather than the previous days, maybe?
Our forecast for the next four days will be that the expected air temperature in Metro Manila will be at 26ºC to 36ºC. We don’t have a forecast for the heat index yet, but most likely, it will feel the same as it has in the past few days. We won’t feel any significant drop in temperature or cooling until June.
What’s the window hours for the hottest time of the day? And the coolest?
The hottest temperature and heat index of the day is usually recorded between 11am to 2pm, that’s been a constant. Coolest point is between 2am to 7am.
And what does PAGASA specifically advise or caution amid this heat, besides hydration?
Definitely hydrating with 8 to 10 glasses of water a day is important to combat the heat is a must. But we also caution against direct exposure to sunlight especially on the hottest points of the day, between 11am to 2pm. Avoid or limit physical activities if you must, during those times, because that can cause heat stress.
PAGASA publishes its weather forecast twice daily at 4am and 4pm on all of their social media channels, followed by a 5am and 5pm livestream on Facebook.
