The Philippines would suspend in-person classes in all public schools for two days due to extreme heat and a nationwide strike by jeepney drivers, the Philippine Department of Education said yesterday.
Extreme heat has scorched Southeast Asia in the past few weeks, prompting thousands of schools to suspend in-person operations and authorities to issue health warnings. Many schools in the Philippines have no air-conditioning, leaving students to swelter in crowded, poorly ventilated classrooms.
“In view of the latest heat index forecast ... and the announcement of a nationwide transport strike, all public schools nationwide shall implement asynchronous classes/distance learning on April 29 and 30, 2024,” the department wrote on Facebook.
Photo: AFP
The department oversees more than 47,000 schools across the archipelago nation.
Some jeepney drivers also plan to hold a three-day nationwide strike starting today to protest the government’s plan to phase out the smoke-belching vehicles used by many to commute to work and school.
The suspension of in-person classes comes after the temperature in Manila on Saturday hit a record high of 38.8°C, with the heat index reaching 45°C, Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) data showed.
The heat index measures what a temperature feels like, taking into account humidity.
The hot weather persisted yesterday, with many people flocking to air-conditioned shopping malls and swimming pools for relief.
“This is the hottest I’ve ever experienced here,” said Nancy Bautista, 65, whose resort in Cavite province near Manila was fully booked due to the hot weather.
“Many of our guests are friends and families. They swim in the pool to fight the heat,” Bautista said.
The months of March, April and May are typically the hottest and driest of the year, but this year’s conditions have been exacerbated by the El Nino weather phenomenon.
“All places in the country, not necessarily just Metro Manila, are expected to have hotter temperatures until the second week of May,” PAGASA weather forecaster Glaiza Escullar said. “There is a possibility that the areas will exceed those temperatures being measured today until the second week of May.”
Camiling municipality in Tarlac province, north of Manila, recorded a temperature of 40.3°C on Saturday — the country’s highest this year.
As the mercury rose, Gerise Reyes, 31, said she planned to take her two-year-old daughter to a shopping mall near Manila.
“It’s hot here at home. This is the hottest I’ve ever experienced especially between 10am and 4pm,” she said. “We need a free aircon to cut our electricity bill.”
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
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The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
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