Pagasa: Temperature to reach 36°C

THE temperature in Davao Region is expected to reach 36 degrees Celsius in the following weeks, the weather station in Davao City warned.

The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) Davao Region advised the public not to stay longer under the heat of the sun to avoid being sick.

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Pagasa Regional Officer Gerry Pedrico said they are expecting the temperature in Davao City and other areas in the region to rise from 35 degrees Celsius to 36 degrees in the following weeks.

"Possible kaayo na mutaas pa ni kay padulong ta sa dry season (It's very possible that the temperature will rise because we are approaching the dry season)," Pedrico said.

Pedrico, however, said avao City is not included among the "most vulnerable areas" to El Niño in Southern Mindanao.

He said the weather monitoring agency listed Davao del Sur, Mati, Davao Oriental, and Davao del Norte to be most vulnerable to dry spell.

"This is because there’s a lot of an agricultural land in these areas kaya madali silang maapektohan. Maliit rin ang recorded na rainfall in these areas compared to the average recorded before," Pedrico said.

Rainfall

Davao Region Pagasa noted that the region has recorded a 109.0 mm of rainfall in September last year, when the average rainfall in this period is 184.3mm.

“In October we only recorded 59.3mm of rain when the normal level would be 178.3mm. In November we had 137.1mm of rain when the normal is 135.3. In December we had 47.0mm when normally it should be 103.5. In January this year, we recorded 157.5mm of rain when normal is 124.8mm. By February we recorded 16.0mm of rain when the normal is 99.8mm. As of March, we are still collecting data," Pederico said.

Pagasa stations in Zamboanga, General Santos, Cotabato City, and Bago-Oshiro Pagasa station had the same observation of irregular amount of rainfall, said Pederico.

In February, Zamboanga recorded 13.8mm of rainfall when the normal is 54.1mm. General Santos recorded 12.6mm when the normal is 60.6mm, Cotabato City recorded 13.5mm when the normal is 117.6mm, Bago Oshiro recorded 28.1mm when the normal is 79.7mm.

Tagum City Pagasa station, however, recorded high level of rainfall in the past months.

In November last year, Tagum recorded 255.8mm when the normal is 142.3mm. In December, there was a 232.9mm recorded compared to a 130.5mm normal level of rainfall. In January, they recorded 206.1mm of rain when the normal level is 180.6mm.