Pagasa records 19ºC in Metro

Government meteorologists recorded on Saturday a cool 19 degrees Celsius in Metro Manila brought on by the northeast monsoon or “hanging amihan” prevalent in the country since the second week of October, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) reported yesterday.

Pagasa senior weather forecaster Bobby Rivera said the cold temperature was recorded at 6 a.m. at the Science Garden in Quezon City.

The Pagasa climatological data center in Sangley Point, Cavite, recorded the coldest temperature this year in Metro Manila at 18.6 degrees Celsius last Jan. 3, 2007.

The lowest temperature of 15.1 degrees Celsius in Metro Manila was recorded on Feb. 4, 1987, Pagasa said.

Baguio City registered last Saturday a temperature of 10 degrees Celsius, while Tagaytay City had 16 degrees Celsius.

Pagasa records showed that the coldest temperature in Baguio was 6.3 degrees Celsius on Jan. 18, 1961.

He said cooler weather conditions are expected in the coming days as the northeast monsoon intensifies.

The northeast monsoon sweeps down from the plateaus of snowy region of Asia and the Himalayas bringing rain and cooler weather to Philippines in the last quarter of the year, Pagasa explained.

Pagasa expects the northeast monsoon, which brings the cold weather associated with the holiday season, to peak in January and February.

Meanwhile, Rivera said no tropical cyclones are expected to enter the Philippine area of responsibility in the next week, as shown by latest weather computer models.

He said the weather systems that will prevail over the country are the tail-end of a cold front and the northeasterly winds.

Rivera said aside from isolated light rains, generally good weather conditions will prevail over Metro Manila within the week.

Visayas and Mindanao will experience mostly cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms becoming frequent over the eastern sections. The rest of the country will have partly cloudy to at times cloudy skies with isolated rain showers, the weather bureau said.

Moderate to strong winds blowing from the northeast will prevail over Luzon and Visayas and the coastal waters along these areas will be moderate to rough, it warned.

Elsewhere, winds will be light to moderate blowing from the northeast with slight to moderate seas.

Contrary to the prevailing cold weather, Nathaniel Cruz, Pagasa weather branch chief, had earlier claimed that aside from above normal rainfall, the prevailing La Niña phenomenon over the country might cause warmer temperatures.

La Niña refers to abnormal cooling of sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific and characterized by excessive rainfall.

Cruz said Filipinos can expect a wetter but warmer Christmas season this year.