Rainy season’s here, but why is it still hot?

The rainy season is definitely here: the habagat (south-southwest wind) is blowing in, thunderclouds are rumbling, and the rains wash down most afternoons and evenings.

Why, then, you may ask, is there no respite from the heat?

"It’s the greenhouse effect created by clouds suspended about three to five kilometers in the atmosphere," meteorologist Nonoy About of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) told The STAR.

According to About, the sun’s radiation is vertically focused on tropical countries in the equator, such as the Philippines, causing the land mass and bodies of water like oceans, lakes, rivers and swamps to heat up.

He added that the extreme heating up of land surface and the subsequent accumulation of water vapor in the atmosphere results in the formation of cumulus nimbus, also known as rain clouds or thunderstorm clouds.

The PAGASA meteorologist also said that, with the onset of habagat or the southwest monsoons, mostly cloudy skies with rain showers and thunderstorms prevail across the country.

"These clouds hinder the passage of the terrestrial heat or singaw galing sa lupa up into the atmosphere. Also, the excessive amount of vapor in the air causes the humidity level to go up," About explained.

So is there to be any relief from the trapped heat?

There is, according to weatherman About.

"When the clouds start dissipating and the sky clears up, the terrestrial heat escapes into the upper level of the atmosphere, consequently causing the temperature to go down," he said.

Meanwhile, with rainy days coming, Dr. Luningning Villa, Department of Health (DOH) spokesperson for Emerging Diseases, warned that one seasonal disease the public should be aware of is leptospirosis.

The disease is acquired when the leptospira bacteria enter wounds or broken skin as people wade through floodwaters polluted by the urine of contaminated rats.

"We should not wade in floodwaters, especially if you have a wound. If you can’t avoid it, wear boots and gloves," she noted. — With Sheila Crisostomo