Metro Manila may sizzle up to 36C – Pagasa

MTSAT ENHANCED IR Satellite Image for 10:32 a.m., 20 April 2012

MANILA, Philippines – Soaring temperatures will continue across Luzon due to a ridge of a high pressure area, or clear skies, state weather forecasters said Friday.

The mercury climbed to 34.9 degrees Celsius at 3 p.m. in Metro Manila last Thursday, the highest temperature reached in the National Capital Region, according to the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration.

On Pagasa’s extended weather outlook, temperature in Metro Manila could sizzle up to 35 degrees over the weekend, and a scorching 36 degrees on Monday and Tuesday.

As temperature rises, the Department of Health (DoH) has urged the public to drink plenty of water, take a shower often, wear thin clothing and use sunscreen as skin protection.

Hospitals have been told to prepare for a surge in heatstroke, exhaustion and dizziness, with children and the elderly are at particular risk.

DoH said excessive heat can prove fatal. It could make heart and respiratory problems worse.

Meanwhile, Mindanao will experience mostly cloudy skies and scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms due to an intertropical convergence zone in southern Mindanao, it added.

The rest of the country will have partly cloudy to at times cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms mostly in the afternoon or evening, it also said.

Light to moderate winds blowing from the east to southeast will prevail over Luzon and coming from the east to northeast over the rest of the country. The coastal waters throughout the archipelago will be slight to moderate.