Baguio’s coldest morn in 5 years

BIG CHILL A Russian fur hat and a scarf keep this man warm as he strolls through Burnham Park in Baguio City. The winter attire worn by many Baguio residents most likely came from the city’s secondhand shops, which reported an increase in sales as temperatures plunged in the past two weeks. RICHARD BALONGLONG/INQUIRER NORTHERN LUZON

Baguio City experienced its coldest morning in five years on Sunday as the mercury dropped to 8.1 degrees Celsius.

Cold winds blowing from China have made the mountain city’s mornings in the past few days exceptionally cold, said Rolando Bagorio, a weather observer at the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) in Baguio.

“Kakaiba ang hangin (The wind was unusual),” Bagorio told the Inquirer by telephone.

The country’s summer capital experienced its coldest day on Jan. 18, 1961, at 6.3 degrees.

In Metro Manila, the lowest temperature recorded so far this year was 17.5 degrees at around 2 a.m., Saturday. The metropolis experienced its lowest temperature at 15.1 degrees in 1987.

Temperatures at the Pagasa Science Garden in Diliman, Quezon City, on Sunday were higher at 20 degrees.

Enhanced ‘amihan’

Weather forecaster Gener Quitlong said the amihan (northeast monsoon) was being enhanced by Tropical Depression “Agaton,” making temperatures dip. “We currently have a slightly stronger amihan,” he said.

Quitlong said it could grow even colder in the first and second weeks of February until the monsoon ends by the week thereafter. January is usually the coldest month of the year.

In Baguio, temperature readings taken by Pagasa at 5 a.m. and 8 a.m. Sunday showed the mercury dropping to 8.1 degrees, the second-coldest since the 7.5 degrees on Jan. 14, 2009, according to Bagorio.

By 2 p.m., however, the temperature rose to 11.5 degrees.

But Bagorio said the chilly days that Baguio residents and visitors were experiencing were normal for the mountain resort city at this time of the year. January and February are its coldest months.

Bagorio said it was on Jan. 13, 1981, and Feb. 1, 1962, that the city woke up to a morning of 8.1 degrees.

Cups of coffee

Residents, who are used to the cold, have also noted the unusually chilly morning, forcing some to sip extra cups of coffee or smoke cigarettes to cope with the temperature drop.

Despite wearing jackets and sweaters, many tourists at parks and those who attended early morning Masses chose to stay under the sun and avoid shaded areas to keep warm.

Sunday’s temperature reading beat the lowest temperature that Baguio experienced this year on Jan. 12, which was 9.6 degrees. Last year, the lowest temperature in Baguio was 9.5 degrees on Jan. 18, while it was 18.1 degrees in Metro Manila on Jan. 24.

With the enhanced amihan, Pagasa advised fishing boats and other small sea vessels against venturing into the seas of Luzon while alerting larger vessels to big waves that could reach up to five meters.

Strong to gale-force winds associated with the surge of the northeast monsoon are expected to make sea conditions rough to very rough.

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