MANILA, Philippines – Residents of Metro Manila and Baguio City woke up to a chilly morning yesterday with temperatures dropping to the lowest so far since the northeast monsoon or amihan set in last October.
Samuel Duran, weather forecaster at the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), said the minimum or lowest temperature in Metro Manila hit 19 degrees Celsius yesterday.
In Baguio City, the minimum temperature dropped to 11.5 degrees Celsius.
Duran said the air temperatures in the country would further dip as the northeast monsoon reaches its peak within the last week of January until the first week of February.
“We usually experience the coldest days in January,” he said in a phone interview.
The coldest temperatures recorded in Metro Manila and Ba-guio City in January last year was 20 degrees Celsius, and 10.8 degrees Celsius, respectively.
Based on PAGASA data, the lowest temperature recorded in Baguio City was 6.3 degrees Celsius on Jan. 18, 1961.
The coldest temperature in Metro Manila was registered twice on Feb. 4, 1987 and Dec. 30, 1988 at 15.1 degrees Celsius.