Baguio sizzles at 30 degrees Celsius

BAGUIO CITY , Philippines  – Baguio further sizzled as temperatures reached a scorching 30 degrees Celsius Monday, the city’s hottest in more than two decades.

In Metro Manila, five apparent victims of heat stroke have died in a span of days, records at the Manila Police District (MPD) showed.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) office in Baguio City explained that the high temperature last Monday was due to the lack of clouds.

Danny Galate, senior weatherman of Pagasa-Baguio, explained that clouds trap the heat, and fluctuating cloud conditionsaffect the temperature in the highlands.

Yesterday, the reading was at 26.8 degrees Celsius because it was a cloudy day, Galate said.

The hottest temperature recorded in Baguio City was on April 15, 1988 at 30.4 degrees.

The normal temperature range here is pegged at 15-22 degrees Celsius during summer, and reaches a low of 7 degrees from December to February.

Pagasa earlier warned that the temperature here could reach 31 degrees Celsius in the coming days since the weather condition is being aggravated by the prevailing drought in most parts of the country.

Baguio City, however, still enjoys cool weather during late afternoons and early mornings, when the average temperature ranges from 14 to 16 degrees Celsius.

Heat stroke victims

In Manila, five people, reported to be victims of heat stroke, have died in a span of four days.

“The casualty rate is alarming. The fatalities either collapsed or were found dead with no visible signs of bodily injuries. The deaths of these persons are categorized as cases of ‘death under inquiry’ and we could blame the present extreme hot condition as the cause of death,” said Chief Inspector Erwin Margarejo, head of the MPD’s crimes against persons section.

Police records showed that since Sunday three unidentified elderly homeless male died one after another. Their bodies were discovered in Ermita, in Sta. Cruz and in front of the LRT Recto station.

Also on Monday afternoon, Ruben Soboriendo, 53, a taxi driver, collapsed and died after alighting from his taxicab at a gasoline station along Osmeña Highway in Pandacan, Manila.

Later in the night, Rolando Yap, 50, was discovered lifeless in his seat inside a Manila-bound provincial bus in Vito Cruz, Manila.

Rain, but El Niño still on

The easterly wave, the prevailing weather system in the country, dumped rains over Metro Manila and some parts of Southern Luzon yesterday and brought partial relief from the scorching heat, but Pagasa said the brief rainshowers were not signs that the El Niño phenomenon is about to end.

El Niño is the abnormal warming of the sea surface temperature and is characterized by below normal rainfall. The weather phenomenon is also the culprit behind the country’s warmer-than-normal weather conditions.

Pagasa said the easterly wave will bring mostly cloudy skies with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms over Mindanao, Southern Luzon and eastern section of Visayas in the next 24 hours.

Most parts of the country have been experiencing intense heat in the past days, with the hottest recorded on Monday in Tuguegarao, Cagayan at 39.7 degrees Celsius.

The weather bureau said Metro Manila was cooler yesterday at 34.4 degrees Celsius compared to the 36 degrees Celsius registered on Monday.

Pagasa deputy administrator Nathaniel Cruz warned that temperatures may still rise in the coming days.   –With Nestor Etolle, Helen Flores