AS EARLY as now, tourism stakeholders will need to think of ways to spare destinations and businesses from the rising heat index caused by climate change that may result in the loss of tourism attractiveness.
Antonio Gabriel La Viña, associate director at Manila Observatory, warned tourism players on Thursday, July 20, 2023, of the soaring temperature now experienced globally that could prompt a shift in tourist habits, picking cooler destinations instead.
67 degrees Celsius
La Viña said countries all over the world are already experiencing intensifying hot temperatures, whose impact and mitigation are something that the Philippines has not meticulously studied yet. He cited, for instance, the escalating heat in the Middle East, which has gone up to 67 degrees Celsius, double the temperature of Cebu.
“We have to expect and prepare for the worst,” said La Viña, who was one of the speakers during the first day of the Tourism Summit held in SM Seaside City Cebu. The Tourism Summit is one of the activities of the Cebu Business Months organized by the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Building code
“If we don’t do something about this, then in 20 years, easily we will also reach 60 or even 70 degrees Celsius. And you can’t wait for that to happen to change your building codes, and transportation networks, even the poor will have aircon facilities and so will all schools,” said La Viña.
As for tourism, La Viña, known for his climate change and environmental expertise, urged stakeholders to prepare ahead as it may take 10 to 20 years to put up infrastructure that would respond to what looks like the biggest impact of climate change.
“It is not storms, not even floods because we are beginning to manage that. Drought and water are also problems in Cebu, but I know lots of thinking has been going on about how to deal with these. But the pure high temperature?... This is something that we did not anticipate 20 years ago,” he said.
Citing the sixth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, La Viña said global warming of 1.5 degrees Celsius and two degrees Celsius will be exceeded during the 21st Century unless deep reductions in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse emissions occur in the coming decades. The report warned that if global warming transiently exceeds 1.5 degrees Celsius in the coming decades or later, then many human and natural systems will face additional severe risks.
People living in coastal areas will be severely affected as well as industries like agriculture, fisheries and biodiversity, compromising livelihoods which may lead to more social conflicts. Workability and livability will also be affected in South Asia like in Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan where extreme heat and humidity are observed.
Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam in Southeast Asia will have extreme increases in heat and humidity by 2050 and extreme precipitation events.
This year’s highest heat index of 50 degrees Celsius scorched Legazpi City, Albay on May 12, according to Pagasa. Cebu also had its highest heat index recorded on March 31 at 41 degrees Celsius.
With the onset of the rainy season, Pagasa suspended its daily issuance of head index information on June 2 and announced that its daily monitoring will resume on March 1, 2024, which coincides with the hot and dry months in many parts of the country.
La Viña said there is still time to do things properly to lessen the impact of climate change on destinations and tourism businesses. He enjoined all tourism stakeholders to look at their respective business operations and see which processes they can turn green and transition to cleaner energy.
“We need to reduce emissions,” he said. He also suggested embarking on nature-based solutions that emphasize biodiversity and food security when dealing with climate change.
La Viña also warned of overdevelopment as this could lead to the depletion of natural resources. Proper waste management could also help mitigate the impact of climate change. (KOC WITH CNU INTERN KATE ANGEL LEDUNAS)