The country's heat index measures what a temperature feels like, taking into account humidity.
The index was expected to reach the "danger" level of 42 degrees Celsius in Manila on Tuesday and 43C on Wednesday, with similar levels in a dozen other areas of the country, the state weather forecaster said.
The actual highest recorded temperature for the metropolis on Tuesday was 35.7C, below the record of 38.6C reached on May 17, 1915.
Local officials across the main island of Luzon, the central islands, and the southern island of Mindanao suspended in-person classes or shortened school hours to avoid the hottest part of the day, education ministry officials said.
The Department of Education was unable to provide an exact number of schools affected.
March, April and May are typically the driest months of the year for swathes of the tropical country. This year conditions have been exacerbated by the El Nino weather phenomenon.
Primary and secondary schools in Quezon, the most populous part of the capital, were ordered to shut while schools in other areas were given the option by local officials to shift to remote learning.
Some schools in Manila also reduced class hours.
A heat index of 42-51C can cause heat cramps and exhaustion, with heat stroke "probable with continued exposure", the weather forecaster said in an advisory.
Heat cramps and heat exhaustion are also possible at 33-41C, according to the forecaster.
The orders affected hundreds of schools in the Mindanao provinces of Cotabato, South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat, as well as the cities of Cotabato, General Santos and Koronadal, Zamboanga regional education ministry spokeswoman Rea Halique told AFP.
Five schools in Mindanao's Zamboanga region also shut schools for the day, though local officials in the area did not recommend the suspension of in-person classes in other schools, the ministry said.
"At the Pagadian City Pilot School one (kindergarten) student and two in the elementary school suffered nosebleeds," Zamboanga regional education ministry official Dahlia Paragas told AFP.
"All of them are back at home in stable condition and were advised to avoid exposure to the sunlight."
Cotabato city experienced the highest heat index in Mindanao, reaching 42C on Monday and Tuesday, the state forecaster reported.
Germany sees warmest March ever as records keep coming
Berlin (AFP) April 2, 2024 -
Germany last month saw its warmest March since records began, the DWD weather office said on Tuesday, rounding off an unusually mild winter.
At 7.5 degrees Celsius (45.5 degrees Fahrenheit), the mean temperature was four degrees above the average for the internationally recognised reference period of 1961 to 1990, the DWD said.
On March 30, temperatures reached 24.9 degrees in Cottbus, near the border with Poland, and 24 degrees in Munich in the south.
February 2024 had also set a new all-time record with an average temperature of 6.6 degrees.
Preliminary figures for the whole winter released in February showed that Germany had seen a long spell of unusually warm and wet weather.
An average of 270 litres of rain per square metre fell between the beginning of December and the end of February -- almost 50 percent more than the usual amount, the DWD said.
With an average temperature of 4.1 degrees, the winter as a whole was the third-warmest since records began in 1881, according to the preliminary figures.
It was the 13th very mild winter in a row for Germany, the DWD said.
Globally, 2023 was by far the hottest year ever recorded, the annual State of the Climate report by the UN weather and climate agency confirmed in March.
Global temperatures "smashed" heat records as heatwaves stalked oceans and glaciers suffered record ice loss, the United Nations said.
"There is a high probability that 2024 will again break the record of 2023," WMO climate monitoring chief Omar Baddour told reporters.
Earlier today, Spain reported that it's on track for the warmest first three months of the year since record keeping began.
Spain on track for warmest first quarter on record
Madrid (AFP) April 2, 2024 -
The first three months of 2024 were likely Spain's warmest first quarter since current records began in 1961, national weather office Aemet said Tuesday based on preliminary data.
The average temperature in mainland Spain during the first three months of the year was 9.5 degrees Celsius (49.1 degrees Fahrenheit), or 1.9 degrees higher than average for the period and 0.1 degrees above the previous record set in 1997, the office said.
"As both January and February were very warm months, with the provisional data currently available, we can say the first quarter of 2024 is the warmest" since records began in 1961, Aemet spokesman Ruben del Campo told reporters. The record still needs to be confirmed by final data.
Spain experienced its warmest January this year since current records began in 1961, with temperatures nearing 30C in the eastern region of Valencia.
The unseasonable winter weather, which drew people to beaches and outdoor cafes across Spain, worsened a lengthy drought in Catalonia in the northeast and in the southern region of Andalusia.
Catalonia's regional government in February declared a drought emergency for Spain's second-largest city of Barcelona and much of the surrounding region, imposing stricter water use restrictions, mainly for industry and agriculture.
Water levels at reservoirs in the Mediterranean region remained exceptionally low, at around 16 percent of full capacity, but heavy rains over the past week have improved levels in Andalusia which is now mulling easing its water use restrictions.
Spain had in 2022 experienced its hottest year since Aemet's annual records began, with an average annual temperature of nearly 15.5C.
It was the first time that the average yearly temperature surpassed 15C.
Related Links
Weather News at TerraDaily.com
| Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters |
| Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters |
