At 34.5º, hottest day so far in Tuguegarao

TUGUEGARAO CITY — This capital city of Cagayan province recorded the hottest day since January on Sunday when temperature rose to 34.5 degrees Celsius.

But it was still a little cooler than the highest temperature of 37.9 degrees recorded on March 31 last year.

The warm air forced food vendor Rachel Beltran to carry an umbrella to work and to drink more water to beat the heat.

“I would stay in buildings or under a tree or waiting shed when the weather is too hot to avoid high blood,” she said in Ilocano.

Tuguegarao, considered the warmest city in the country, is used to the sharp rise in temperatures during summer, said resident Cadel Trilles.

Ramil Tuppil, weather forecaster, said the warm temperature may escalate due to the northeast monsoon in Luzon.

In Isabela, water level at Magat Dam’s reservoir dropped to 173.77 meters above sea level on Sunday, from 174.23 masl on Saturday, owing to the hot temperature and the lack of rain.

The incoming typhoon (international name: Bavi) is expected to hit Isabela and Aurora provinces, but weathermen said there are no assurances that it will bring enough rain to fill the dam.

“The typhoon is still very far from our area,” said Wilfredo Gloria, acting operations manager of the National Irrigation Administration-Magat River Integrated Irrigation System. Villamor Visaya Jr., Inquirer Northern Luzon