Tuguegarao City recorded its hottest day of the year on Thursday when the temperature soared to 39.3 degrees Celsius, the weather bureau said.
The reading, made at 2 p.m., was just a few degrees short of the 39.7 degrees recorded in Echague, Isabela, on May 15, the hottest in the entire country so far this year, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said.
Pagasa said it was slightly cooler in Isabela on Thursday when the temperature reached only 36.8 degrees Celsius. Cabanatuan City, another place known for record high temperatures, was also a tad cooler at 36.7 degrees.
In Metro Manila, the temperature was just average at 35.3 degrees Celsius.
The hottest day in Metro Manila this year was on Monday when the mercury hit 36.6 degrees Celsius.
The hottest day ever recorded in the Philippines since Pagasa began monitoring was on May 11, 1969, when a temperature reading of 42.2 degrees Celsius was made in Tuguegarao City.
Based on Pagasa’s 24-hour outlook, the ridge of a high-pressure area, which brings sunny weather, continues to extend across Luzon.
“The whole country will be partly cloudy with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms mostly in the afternoon or evening,” it said.
Light to moderate winds blowing from the east to southeast will prevail throughout the archipelago and the coastal waters will be slightly to moderately rough, Pagasa said. DJ Yap