Days longer than nights this month

MANILA, Philippines - Days will start to become longer than nights after the vernal equinox, which will happen on March 21, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said yesterday.

PAGASA said the sun will reach the vernal equinox at 6:45 a.m. on March 21, marking the beginning of spring in the northern hemisphere and autumn in the southern hemisphere.

“On the day of the equinox, night and day are about the same length at every location on earth,” according to PAGASA.

The term equinox is derived from the Latin word “aequus,” which means equal, and “nox,” which means night.

PAGASA said after the vernal equinox, daylight hours will be longer.

The weather agency has yet to declare the start of the dry or summer season in the country as a weak northeast monsoon continues to affect parts of Luzon.

The weather bureau said it may declare the start of the dry season by the third week of this month.

PAGASA declares the start of the dry season once the easterlies become the dominant weather system in the country.

The agency declared the onset of summer last year on March 26.

PAGASA said a weak northeast monsoon will continue to bring partly cloudy to at times cloudy skies with isolated light rains over the islands of Batanes, Calayan and Babuyan.

However, it expects slightly warmer temperatures and afternoon thunderstorms to be more prevalent in the coming days and weeks as the dry season approaches.

Zero or one tropical cyclone normally enters the country in March, the weather bureau said.