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A farmer checks a portion of a dried rice field along Pulilan-Baliuag Bypass Road in Bulacan on February 26, 2024.
STAR / Michael Varcas
MANILA, Philippines — A “danger” heat index of 42 to 51 degrees Celsius is expected in Metro Manila and certain areas as the peak of the dry season will be experienced from end-March until April, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).
“We are in the transition period going to the dry season or summer. By mid-March, we expect a break of amihan or northeast monsoon,” PAGASA weather specialist Ana Clauren-Jorda said in a radio interview.
A heat index of 46 degrees Celsius is expected at the Science Garden in Quezon City on March 3 and 4, based on the two-day forecast of the state weather bureau.
Other areas to experience a danger-level heat index are Clark Airport, Pampanga; Muñoz, Nueva Ecija; Abucay, Bataan and Subic Bay, Olongapo City.
Marine heatwaves
Record-breaking marine heatwaves fueled by climate change and exacerbated by El Niño have caused global devastation in the past two years, based on the Nature Climate Change report.
Marine heatwave days increased by 3.5 times in the summers of 2023 and 2024 compared to any other year on record, the study found.
Nearly 10 percent of the ocean hit record-high temperatures, the study noted.
“In the past two years, marine heatwaves have forced the closure of fisheries and aquaculture, increased whale and dolphin strandings and caused the fourth global coral bleaching event,” the study said.
“If we keep burning fossil fuels and cutting down forests, marine heatwaves could be 20 to 50 times more frequent and ten times more intense by the end of the century,” it noted.
Oil, coal and gas must be replaced with renewable energy to safeguard ocean life and coastal communities, the report said.
