OH, I’M so hot, so hot! Oh the heat, the heat! And I’m far from being or feeling sexy.
Nothing salacious. Just intense inconvenience. Negros Occidental including its capital Bacolod City sizzled last Wednesday as the heat index soared to 43 degrees Celsius, said Zeaphard Gerhart Caelian, head of Negros Occidental Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Division.
I deeply appreciate those who have expressed concern when I walk under the noontime sun. I might suffer a heat stroke. That’s why I now bring my bush hat as a foil against the heat.
Last week, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) warned that some areas have experienced dangerous levels of heat index, just as the onset of summer was declared.
Whoa. Nueva Ecija last week recorded a 50.2 degrees Celsius heat index.
On Saturday, the highest heat index was experienced in Calapan, Oriental Mindoro at 41 degrees Celsius. And this week, 43 in the province.
The heat index or “init factor” is the temperature people feel. Heat indices 41 degrees Celsius and up are considered dangerous to human beings. And the other day went beyond the threshold.
Aldczar Aurelio, a Pagasa weather specialist, issued an advisory: “Let’s avoid staying under the sun for prolonged periods of time especially between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Why? Because that’s when the maximum temperature is recorded.”
Pagasa cautioned that continued exposure could cause heat cramps, or worse, heat stroke.
Alas, I traverse 17th Street every Thursday to get to Poveda Center to hold a Prayer and Life Workshop. That means I give it a 15-minute walk.
Aurelio issued the following advice:
Don’t forget to keep hydrated; Wear light-colored clothes, as dark colors absorb more heat.
He warned the highest temperatures to happen in May. “This is just starting. This isn’t the peak.” Now you tell me. You mean, we ain’t seen—or felt—the worse?
The upside is that I have to drink more water than I used to avoid dehydration. I always find my lungs parched. It’s also a blessing that I have to wear my white PLW T-shirt, not my dark blue Philippine Mediation Center T-shirt.
The heat is force majeure. An act of God, Mother Earth’s response to the worsening climate change.
Let me offer this prayer of Pope Francis on climate change: O God of the poor, help us to rescue the abandoned and forgotten of this earth, so precious in your eyes. Bring healing to our lives, that we may protect the world and not prey on it, that we may sow beauty, not pollution and destruction.
Touch the hearts, of those who look only for gain at the expense of the poor and the earth.
Teach us to discover the worth of each thing, to be filled with awe and contemplation, to recognize that we are profoundly united with every creature as we journey toward your infinite light. We thank you for being with us each day.
Encourage us, we pray, in our struggle, for justice, love and peace. Amen.
(bqsanc@yahoo.com)