BAGUIO CITY December 05 – The temperature in the Summer Capital continues to drop with the prevalence of the enhanced northeast monsoon which now entices visitors to flock to the city and enjoy the cool and romantic weather amidst the implementation of the Corona Virus Disease (COVID) 2019 restrictions.
Based on the data obtained from the local office of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), the lowest temperature recorded in the city on Sunday was 11.4 degrees Celsius which is lower compared to the 11.8 degrees Celsius that was registered by weather instruments Saturday morning.
Weathermen disclosed that the prevailing temperature in the city started to dip last Thursday when the mercury level recorded 12 degrees Celsius as the lowest before further dropping to 12 degrees Celsius Friday morning.
The usual morning temperature prevailing in the city is 15 to 16 degrees Celsius before the same started to drop over the past several days that started to entice tourists to start scheduling their travels to the city for them to enjoy the cool weather during the Yuletide season.
However, weathermen disclosed that the cool weather in the city will be much colder in the coming months because of the prevalence of the enhanced northeast monsoon with the cold winds from Siberia starting to get colder.
Further, the automatic weather station based in Atok, Benguet, one of the elevated areas in the province, recorded 9 degrees Celsius as the lowest temperature Friday morning.
PAGASA continues to record much lower temperature in highly elevated areas in Baguio and Benguet compared to the normal morning temperature being recorded in the city.
The cold weather in the city and Benguet starts to prevail from November to March which makes the Summer Capital attractive for travellers to spend a well-deserved break and for them to escape from the scorching heat in the lowlands.
The lowest temperature recorded in the city was 6.3 degrees Celsius on January 18, 1961 and that the fifth lowest temperature which was 7.5 degrees Celsius was recorded on January 15, 2009.
On the other hand, local health authorities reminded residents and visitors to ensure that they are well protected from the cold weather by always wearing thick clots to prevent them from contracting cold day illnesses such as colds, cough among others that might compromise their health condition, especially with the emergence of the impending threat of COVID-19 as its symptoms are similar to the signs of the cold weather diseases.
Further, people were also reminded to keep themselves healthy and for their immune system to be strong by eating the right kind of food to avoid contracting illnesses that might affect their performance of their assigned responsibilities in their daily lives. By Dexter A. See