Metro Manila registered its hottest day so far this year with an air temperature reading of 35.4 degrees Celsius yesterday afternoon.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration said the air temperature of 35.4 degrees Celsius was recorded at the Science Garden monitoring station in Quezon City at around 4 p.m. However, it felt like 39.5 degrees Celsius due to high humidity in the air, the State weather bureau said.
Heat index, or what the human perceives or feels as the temperature that affects their body, is different from air temperature. Heat index is a combination of air temperature and humidity, thus, it is higher by at least two to three degrees Celsius from the actual air temperature.
Yesterday’s air temperature is the same as the 35.4 degrees Celsius recorded last April 6.
Likewise, PAGASA pointed out that the Science Garden monitoring station in Quezon City is the “most ideal” place to get the highest temperature in the metropolis because of the absence of “obstructions,” unlike at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and Port Area stations where “smoke, urban heat, buildings, and airplanes” affect the air temperature.
Based on the PAGASA data, the highest temperature in Philippine history is 42.2 degrees Celsius, recorded in Tuguegarao City, Cagayan on May 11, 1969. On the other hand, the hottest day in Metro Manila was 38.5 degrees Celsius recorded on May 14, 1987.
PAGASA said warm and humid weather will prevail over most of the country today. (Ellalyn V. Ruiz)
