BAGUIO City may well be heading towards less chilly days and the temperature in the mountain city will likely begin warming this week with waning of the northeast monsoon that brings cold winds from Siberia, the state weather bureau said Friday.
“The peak of the prevailing northeast monsoon is over so there’s vague chance for Baguio’s temperature to still dip below the 7.3°C record-low there on Wednesday [Feb. 15],” said weather forecaster Benison Estareja of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration.
Such temperature is Baguio’s lowest for the year, Estareja noted, adding that the northeast monsoon, locally called “amihan,” starts over Siberia as cold, dry air mass which gathers moisture while moving south towards the Philippines from October to March.
“Amihan” is characterized by widespread cloudiness with rains or showers, Pagasa noted.
Latest available data indicate a pattern of warming temperature in Baguio City, the Philippines’ summer capital.
“Temperature there rose to 8.0°C this Thursday (Feb. 17) from the record-low recorded Wednesday,” Estareja said.
He noted Thursday’s temperature is normal in Baguio around this time of the year due to cold winds blowing not only from Siberia but from mainland China as well. “Those areas are experiencing winter at present,” he said.
Pagasa weather forecaster Aldczar Aurelio also said the agency’s monitoring shows Baguio’s temperature this Friday climbed further to 12.0°C.
“Baguio may experience further warming possibly in the next three days,” he said. “The amihan isn’t that strong in Northern Luzon.”
Strong to gale-force winds associated with “amihan” may affect eastern seaboards of southern Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.