The warm and dry season this year will not reach record-breaking temperatures logged during last year’s strong El Nino, the state weather bureau PAGASA said yesterday.
But as temperatures continued to sizzle yesterday, the Department of Labor and Employment on Tuesday urged private companies to adopt measures to lessen the effects of the heat wave in workplaces.
“We appeal for employers to protect the health and safety of their workers…Even if the onset of summer season is not yet officially here, proactive and preventive measures are better than reactive ones,” Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma said.
Under existing DOLE guidelines, companies must ensure effective ventilation and heat insulation in all areas with workers.
There should also be an adjustment of rest breaks or work locations to allow recovery from heat exposure and provide free and adequate drinking water.
Companies are likewise urged to provide temperature-appropriate uniforms and personal protective equipment, such as hats, goggles with protection against ultraviolet rays, and comfortable light material long-sleeve t-shirts.
For her part, PAGASA climate monitoring chief Ana Liza Solis said this year’s dry season will likely start on the third week of March, with temperatures reaching 39°C in Northern Luzon, particularly in urban areas.
Heat index, otherwise known as the “apparent temperature,” is what the temperature feels like to the human body when relative humidity is combined with air temperature.
During last year’s El Niño, the heat index in Iba, Zambales reached 53°C on April 28 – the highest recorded in 2024.
In terms of actual temperature, several PAGASA stations across the country posted new all-time records last year, including: Clark, Pampanga at 39.1°C; NAIA, Pasay City at 38.8°C; Sangley Point, Cavite City at 38.7°C; Butuan City at 38°C; and Malaybalay City at 37.5°C.
Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System said Metro Manila is not expected to experience water shortage in the upcoming summer months.
“For this year, we projected there will be no water shortage because we had a high yearend elevation (in Angat dam),” MWSS Engineering and Technical Operations Group Acting Deputy Administrator Patrick James Dizon said.
Several local government units in Luzon suspended classes anew yesterday due to the high heat index.
The cities of Manila and Quezon City canceled in-person classes and shifted to blended learning across different education levels.
The Manila LGU suspended all classes in public and private schools, shifting to alternative learning modes. Meanwhile, Quezon City suspended face-to-face classes for public and private schools from daycare to senior high school.
In Cavite province, Bacoor City suspended in-person classes for preschool through Grade 12.
Bataan province also implemented widespread class suspensions, with the municipalities of Abucay, Hermosa, Orani and Samal canceling all levels of classes in both public and private schools.
Meanwhile, the Metro Manila Council is considering a unified approach to class suspensions in response to extreme heat.
San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora, the council’s president, said he would coordinate with fellow mayors and consult Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chairman Romando Artes on a possible Metro Manila-wide policy.
“If there will be a consensus, then we can implement it across Metro Manila,” Zamora said in a radio interview Tuesday.
The discussion followed calls from a group of teachers in the National Capital Region for an automatic, unified class suspension system, citing inconsistencies in how LGUs have handled in-person learning cancellations.
The state weather bureau said Dagupan City in Pangasinan is likely to experience today (Wednesday, March 5) a heat index of 42°C, which is classified as a danger level.
Other areas with heat index forecast falling under the extreme caution level include: Iba in Zambales (41°C); Cubi Point, Subic Bay in Olongapo City (41°C); Calapan in Oriental Mindoro (41°C); Cotabato City in Maguindanao (41°C); NAIA in Pasay City (40°C); ISU, Echague in Isabela (40°C); Sangley Point in Cavite (40°C); Science Garden in Quezon City (39°C); Laoag City in Ilocos Norte (39°C); MMSU, Batac in Ilocos Norte (39°C); Bacnotan in La Union (39°C); Tuguegarao City in Cagayan (39°C) ; Clark Airport in Pampanga (39°C); San Ildelfonso in Bulacan (39°C); Ambulong, Tanauan in Batangas (39°C); Puerto Princesa City in Palawan (39°C); Cuyo in Palawan (39°C); and Iloilo City in Iloilo (39°C), among others
Meanwhile, House Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro pushed for the passage of a bill mandating the return of the June-March school calendar to address extreme heat conditions in public schools.
Castro, author of House Bill 8550 that seeks to bring back the old school calendar, expressed concern over uncomfortable in-person classroom situations in public schools amid the extreme heat.
“Our classrooms have become virtual ovens, with temperatures reaching dangerous levels that no child should have to endure while trying to learn,” Castro said.