PAGASA urged to have extreme heat map
CEBU, Philippines — Senator Sherwin Gatchalian yesterday urged state weather bureau PAGASA to map out extreme heat forecasts as a guide for schools and local government units in cancelling classes.
This is to remove “arbitrariness” in class suspensions due to the extreme heat compounded by the ongoing El Niño phenomenon, according to Gatchalian, who is also the Senate basic education committee chairman.
Gatchalian said the Senate can help allocate budget to PAGASA to purchase equipment to have a more location-specific heat index.
“I would like to suggest to PAGASA to come up with location-specific temperature forecasts, and if we need to buy technology or to help you with technology, the Senate can definitely assist you to help improve the decision-making of our LGUs and our school heads,” Gatchalian said.
"It is important to provide the schools and local government units with the necessary information so they can respond because a lack of information may also lead to a lack of advanced and strategic response, which can be detrimental to our students," he added
PAGASA should have a system in place mapping out the heat index, similar to the way it tracks the path of a typhoon and categorizes its strength into storm signal numbers, according to the senator.
"We all know that during the rainy season, the process is very clear. We cancel classes based on the storm signal. It's highly structured, with no room for arbitrariness,” Gatchalian said.
“We want to avoid scenarios where a mayor or school head might have differing concepts regarding class cancellations," he added.
Heat-related illnesses
As high heat indices continue to affect different areas in the country, the Department of Health (DOH) reported 77 cases of heat-related illness this year.
The DOH said that as of April 29, 2024, 77 cases of heat-related illnesses have been recorded
“According to the DOH Event-based Surveillance and Response System, the cases were reported from January 1 to April 29, 2024,” said the DOH in a statement.
Among these cases, 67 were noted to have affected the age range of 12 to 21 years old. Of these, seven were reported deaths.
“Deaths may be heat-related illnesses (including heat stroke) or heat-influenced (e.g. underlying high risk for heart attack, precipitated by hot environment that led to elevated blood pressure),” the health department pointed out.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration on Friday said 25 areas in the country experienced heat index under the “danger” category - that is ranging from 42 to 47 degrees Celsius.
To prevent heat-related illnesses, the DOH is continuously reminding the public to drink enough water, wear loose and light clothing, limit outdoor exposure between 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and use sunblock, umbrella and cap.
For those experiencing symptoms of heat-related illnesses, the DOH advise them to rest in shaded areas, use cold compress to help cool down the body temperature, and seek immediate medical treatment. (deck)
CVIRAA precaution
Amid the extreme heat, the Cebu City government through the Cebu City Sports Commission along with the Department of Education-7 and Cebu City division fielded the biggest number of medical personnel to date in the Central Visayas Regional Athletic Association (CVIRAA) Regional Meet here.
Around 300 medical personnel have been assigned to various locations from the playing venues to billeting quarters.
CCSC commissioner Dr. Rhoel Dejano said yesterday that no heat-related injuries have been reported so far on the first day of competition.
Among the games that already started were athletics, gymnastics, baseball, and bocce for the special education student-athletes.
“So far, okay ra g’yud kayo… Importante, no games after 9 o’clock… No heat-related injuries… Smooth ra ang dagan,” he said.
He also said it is important that the schedules will be strictly followed to avoid untoward incidents.
As the battle goes full blast, morning games are scheduled only from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. with resumption at 3 p.m. up.
Most of the indoor venues are also said to be well-ventilated, but athletes and even spectators are expected to be well-hydrated.
The CVIRAA Regional Meet also serves as a dry-run of the Palarong Pambansa which Cebu City is also hosting in July of this year.
“This is very important for us because this serves as a dry-run for the Palaro. Whatever flaws, we need to correct it ASAP so all athletes will be safe,” Dejano said.
Meanwhile, an Information Technology (IT) expert cautioned yesterday the public on overheating cellphones capable of exploding.
In an interview with dzBB, IT expert Art Samaniego gave the public some tips on how to prevent their cellphones from exploding due to overheating.
“Once your cellphone hanged and you feel that it started unusually functioning slowly, one of the reasons of that is it is overheating. Cheap Cellphones continue to charge even if it is already fully-charged,” Samaniego said.
“An overheated cellphone is dangerous because it can explode,” Samaniego said.
Samaniego also warned the public not to place their cellphones in areas that it will be directly hit by sunlight.
“Exposure to direct sunlight is a killer of electronic gadgets. When it overheated, you can turn it off in the meantime and let it rest for a while. While under rest, remove the cellphones casing as it also produced heat to the cellphone,” Samaniego said.
Due to climate change, the country is now under attack by unusual heat index recorded between 41 degrees Celsius to as high as 53 degrees Celsius in the past several weeks.
There were also earlier reports of cellphone suddenly exploding for unexplained reason at the shock of its owners. — (FREEMAN)
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