Dagupan bakes at 51 degrees Celsius

Dagupan City in Pangasinan has recorded this year's second-highest heat index thus far in 2020 at 51 degrees Celsius. state weather forecasters said Wednesday.

The highest index in 2020 was at 58 degrees Celsius in San Jose City, Occidental Mindoro on April 20, forecasters in Manila said.

This measures human discomfort based on the actual temperature felt by the body, the state weather bureau Pagasa (Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration) said Wednesday.

The city, 218 kilometers north of Manila, logged a heat index of 51 degrees Celsius at 2 p.m. Tuesday, said Jose Estrada Jr, chief weather observer of Pagasa-Dagupan.

Pagasa’s Science Garden in Quezon City itself recorded a heat index of 42 degrees Celsius with a maximum temperature of 37.2 degrees Celsius and relative humidity of 39 percent on May 5 at 3 pm.

READ: How to beat the summer heat

Tuesday's high heat indexes were also felt in Sangley Point, Cavite at 49 degrees Celsius with maximum temperature of 35.9 and relative humidity of 69 percent;

Ambulong, Batangas at 48 degrees Celsius at 11 a.m. with maximum temperature of 34.6 degrees Celsius and relative humidity of 68 percent;

Munoz, Nueva Ecija at 46 degrees Celsius at 2 p.m. with maximum temperature of 38 degrees Celsius and relative humidity of 46 percent, and Iba, Zambales at 45 degrees Celsius at 2 p.m. with maximum temperature of 34.6 degrees Celsius and relative humidity of 62 percent.

Relative humidity is the measurement of the water vapor in the air when the temperature is warm.

Heat index is the "apparent" temperature or what human beings perceive or feel as the temperature affecting their bodies.

Pagasa earlier warned that a heat index between 41 and 54 degrees Celsius would is categorized under "danger," and might cause heat cramps and heat exhaustion.

Heatstroke is also probable with continued activity, it said.

The weather agency on Wednesday also tallied the following heat index.

Cavite City, 49 °C

Tanauan City in Batangas,48 °C

Muñoz in Nueva Ecija, 46 °C

Iba in Zambales, 45 °C

Temperatures across the country can range from 36 to 38 °C in the next few days, which thunderstorms could dampen in the late afternoon or evening, said PAGASA-Dagupan's Estrada.

To cope with the hot weather, people should drink plenty of water and avoid strenuous activities from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., said Dr. Anna De Guzman of the Pangasinan provincial health office.

PAGASA also advised the public to stay indoors and on the lowest floors as much as possible, wear light clothes, and avoid eating food high in protein which can increase body heat.