INQUIRER file photo
Bundle up for colder mornings.
The northeast monsoon or “amihan” is forecast to sweep across Luzon Tuesday and eventually the rest of the archipelago in the coming weeks, bringing in cool weather that most Filipinos associate with the advent of Christmas.
“We should expect to feel like Christmas. Brace for cooler mornings. Bring out the sweater. There’s no stopping Christmas,” said Undersecretary Graciano Yumul of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).
Amihan, which sweeps down from the plateaus of mainland Asia and the Himalayas and brings cold, dry air to the Philippines around this time of the year, has crept into extreme northern Luzon, including Batanes and Palayan and Babuyan groups of islands, as early as last week.
It is expected to surge this week on the main island of Luzon, including Metro Manila, and creep across Visayas and Mindanao in the coming weeks, Yumul said. It won’t peak, however, until January or February, he added.
Since Taiwan reported a 17° Celsius temperature from the northeast monsoon, Luzon should expect below the normal 25–32 °C once the northeast monsoon kicks in, he said.
“ We’ll probably experience 18°C to 19°C,” Yumul said in a phone interview. He pointed out that the cold-inducing monsoon would be “progressive” and become full-blown by November.
Because of the amihan, gale warning will be raised in the northern coast of northern Luzon, he said.
The tail-end of the cold front, which results from the convergence of cold and warm air, would be felt in southern Luzon and the Visayas by Wednesday and Thursday, according to Yumul.
Both the amihan and the cold front will bring rain over the eastern seaboard, from Quezon through eastern Visayas to eastern Mindanao, from November to December.
How soon the northeast monsoon could affect the Visayas and Mindanao would depend on how fast it would sweep through the islands, senior weather specialist Rene Paciente said.