BAGUIO CITY December 26 – Temperature in the Summer Continued to drop over the past four days with the lowest at 12 degrees Celsius early Monday morning that allowed residents and visitors to enjoy the chilly mornings while welcoming Christmas.
The temperature suddenly dropped to 13 degrees Celsius early Friday morning before further dropping to P12.4 degrees Celsius early Saturday morning and lightly improving to 13 degrees Celsius on Christmas Day based on the monitoring of the Baguio office of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGSA).
The chilly mornings caused by the prevalence of the enhanced northeast monsoon forced residents and visitors to bring out their thick clothes to keep themselves warm and spare them from contracting the cold day illnesses.
However, weathermen warned the public of much colder days ahead because of the expected further enhancement of the northeast monsoon due to the melting of the snow in the Siberian region where the cold winds will be brought to the Northern Luzon area.
The lowest temperature that was recorded by the weather bureau in the city was 6.3 degrees Celsius on January 18, 1961 or more than 5 decades ago.
PAGASA projected that while temperature in the city continues to drop, even the prevailing temperature in highly elevated areas in Baguio and
Benguet also continues to drop as the same is approximately 3 to 4 degrees lower compared to the temperature in the city.
In Atok, Benguet, the lowest temperature recorded by the satellite weather station in the area was around 7 degrees Celsius on December 26, and around 8 degrees Celsius on Christmas Day.
On the other hand, local health authorities warned the public on the expected rise in cold day illnesses such as colds, cough, bronchitis, pneumonia, among others that is why people were advised to keep themselves warm by wearing their thick clothes to prevent them from contracting illnesses that might compromise their merrymaking and their enjoyment of the yuletide season.
Another contributory factor in the chilly weather condition in the city and other highly elevated areas in Baguio and Benguet is the overcast skies that add up to the cool weather condition that exists during the day and the night time.
By Dexter A. See
