Metro Manila's hottest so far 36.6ºC

MANILA, Philippines - Metro Manila's temperature soared to 36.6 degrees Celsius on Friday, the hottest recorded by the government's weather bureau this year.

Connie Dadivas of the The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said the reading was taken at the agency’s Science Garden in Diliman, Quezon City at 3:55 p.m.

She said that the latest reading surpassed last Tuesday's temperature of 36.1 degrees Celsius.

The hottest temperature recorded this year so far was 39.6 degrees Celsius in Echague town, Isabela province last April 6.

Dadivas said that Filipinos, particularly those in Luzon, should expect a hotter weekend due to the prevailing ridge of a high-pressure area and easterlies which is also a factor in the current weather condition in the Philippines.

Meanwhile, she said that the easter sections of Visayas and Mindanao will experience rains due to easterlies while the trough of the low pressure area near Mindanao has already dissipated.