Metro Manila residents woke up to a chilly 20.1 degrees Celsius on Thursday morning, the lowest temperature recorded so far this year.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said the temperature was recorded at the Science Garden in Quezon City at 5 a.m. The previous record was 20.2 C on Jan. 14.
The chilly weather was due to the prevailing northeast monsoon, locally known as “amihan,” which brings cold and dry air from Siberia and China.
The all-time coldest temperature measured in the metropolis was 14.5 C in Port Area, Manila, on Jan. 11, 1914.
Baguio City also experienced its coldest morning this year on Jan. 17, as the temperature dropped to 12.4 C.
Other places that recorded cold mornings were Basco, Batanes (17.4 C); Casiguran, Aurora (18 C); Tanay, Rizal (18.1C); Abucay, Bataan (18.6 C); Laoag City, Ilocos Norte (19.2 C); Tuguegarao City, Cagayan (19.6 C); Clark, Pampanga (19.9 C); and Mulanay, Quezon (20 C). —RUSSEL P. LORETO