Heat in Pinoy history

Many things happening today have already happened in the past. And while many Filipinos believe that the scorching heat we’ve been experiencing recently is something new and unfelt before, there have in fact already been many times in previous decades when the temperature has made many of us sweat like pigs! Today, let us look way back in history to find out what temperatures were considered “hot” by Filipinos in the past.

During the Spanish period, in 1875, for example, it was reported that Manila’s average monthly temperatures were: January, 21.9°C; February, 21.3°C; March, 23°C; April, 23.4; May, 23.9°C; June, 23.8°C; July, 22.8°C; August, 22.2°C; September, 22.8°C; October, 22.3°C; November, 21.7°C; and December, 21.4°C. Two years later, records indicate the year-long temperatures of Davao, with the highest heat index recorded at 32°C in February to April, and then in November. The lowest was 23°C, also in February. On average, most months had temperatures between 26°C and 30°C. By 1896, records show that Manila had an average temperature of 22.4°C during the colder months and a high of 30.7°C during the warmer months. Cebu’s was 23.9°C (low) and 30.12°C (high); Davao’s was warmer at 30.5°C during the cold months and 31.5°C in the warmer months.

In 1904, American observers stated that Manila’s temperature usually rose a few degrees only above the mean of the year in the early summer months, and fell a few degrees lower than that average in the colder months. There was usually a range in the monthly mean temperatures of the year of only 7°C, from 25°C in January to 28.8°C in May, and there was no extreme of heat. Temperatures above 37°C were almost unknown and was recorded to have occurred only twice in 16 years. The lowest temperature on record was 15.5°C.

Many compared the temperature in the Philippines with cities in the United States. For the city of Washington, for instance, the highest temperature recorded was 40°C, 4°C above the highest in Manila. An American writer in 1909 observed that he suffered from heat more acutely in Philadelphia, Washington, and New York than in Manila and that extremes of temperature were rare. And since it was a dry kind of heat, sunstroke was unknown. In December and January and the latter half of November and the first half of February, Manila’s weather was said to be ideal and that even in the hot months of April and May, it almost always cooled off at night.

In 1914, another report stated that the heat in most parts of the Philippines was never extreme and nothing in Manila approached the high temperatures sometimes experienced in New York or Boston. April and May were the hottest months, while August and September had the highest humidity. There were often many days in May averaging 32 degrees, but there was usually a cool northeasterly breeze at that season, and throughout the Philippines, except in Cagayan Valley Region and in one or two other inland regions of the larger islands; hot nights were almost unknown.

More complete data from the World Bank show that the average highest temperature in the Philippines from 1901-1930 was 31.06 in March-May, 31.22 in 1931-1960, 31.34 from 1961 to 1990, and 31.59 in 1991 to 2020. These figures do not indicate an alarming increase in temperature, but it is also clear from these numbers that there has been a continued rise in the country’s temperature since 1901. Just a few days ago, the heat index in Manila had reached 45°C, and the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) warned that we could reach an “extreme danger” level of 57°C by May.

Our ancestors enjoyed a much better weather than we do today, and they learned to adopt as the heat increased over the years. We have to be more adaptable and open to sacrifices and changes, and learn to take precautions to protect ourselves from the scorching heat.