M-m-m-more cold mornings in Metro

The weather bureau expects more nippy mornings until mid-February. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Air conditioners and electric fans are not needed at home with good ventilation these days, especially at night, as temperatures continue to plunge.

Temperatures dropped further early on Sunday in Metro Manila to a chilly 15.8 degrees Celsius, lower than the 16.9 degrees recorded the previous day.

The weather bureau expects more nippy mornings until mid-February.

With amihan affecting Luzon and the Visayas, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said generally cool and dry weather was to be expected all over the country as the northeast monsoon peaked.

Apart from Metro Manila, Central Luzon received the full blast of the Siberian northeasterly winds that accounted for the dip in temperature in several areas, said forecaster Manny Mendoza. Nueva Ecija province was as cold as Metro Manila at around 6 a.m.

Diliman, Port Area, Naia

Mendoza said that at around 4:50 a.m., Sunday, the temperature at the Pagasa Science Garden in Diliman, Quezon City, was 15.8 degrees.

Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) in Pasay City and Port Area in Manila recorded 18.8 degrees and 20 degrees, respectively, but the weather bureau considered the Science Garden reading the most representative of the entire Metro Manila.

Mendoza said the temperature readings in Pasay City and Manila differed from those in Quezon City because of altitude.

“Quezon City is on a higher altitude than Manila or Pasay City. There are also other factors, including their location near the coast, that affect temperatures in Manila and Naia,” he told the Inquirer.

According to Pagasa, the lowest temperature recorded on Sunday was also 15.8 degrees at around 6 a.m. in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija.

Cabanatuan, Malaybalay

Baguio City was coldest on Sunday at 9.4 degrees at 4:35 a.m. It was 13.6 degrees in Malaybalay City in Bukidnon province at around 7:45 a.m.

The lowest temperature on Sunday in Tuguegarao City (Cagayan province) was recorded at 13.9 degrees (6 a.m.). Laoag City (Ilocos Norte province) was coldest on Sunday at 16.6 degrees (6:35 a.m.).

The mercury in Clark, Pampanga province, dropped to 16.5 degrees at around 6:10 a.m.

The 15.8 degrees in Metro Manila on Sunday was still higher than the 14.6 degrees in February, 1962, the area’s coldest recorded temperature, according to Mendoza.

Big waves

With strong to gale-force winds of amihan affecting the eastern seaboards of the Visayas and Mindanao, Mendoza advised fishing boats and other small seacraft against venturing into the sea. He alerted larger vessels to big waves that could reach up to 4.5 meters.

The eastern seaboards of the Visayas and Mindanao are in the Surigao provinces, Samar, Leyte and Davao Oriental, as well as in Dinagat and Siargao Islands where sea conditions are expected to be rough to very rough.

The weather on Monday for the whole country is expected to be partly cloudy to cloudy with isolated light rains.—With a report from Melvin Gascon, Inquirer Northern Luzon

RELATED STORIES:

Metro Manila feels early morning chill at 15.8 degrees Celsius

Runners pooh-pooh chilly morning, join Sunday’s Manila fun run