Cold spell to last until February – Pagasa

MANILA, Philippines — Some parts of the country, including Baguio City and Metro Manila, will continue to experience chilly mornings until next month, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said yesterday.

Temperatures are expected to plunge even further in the coming days due to the surge of the northeast monsoon or cold air from China and Siberia, according to the state weather bureau.

“We can still experience colder temperatures in February,” Ana Liza Solis, chief of PAGASA’s climate monitoring and prediction section, told The STAR.

In Baguio City, the temperature may still drop to 9.6 degrees Celsius next month, Solis said.

On Monday, PAGASA recorded the temperature in Baguio City at 9.8 degrees Celsius, the lowest so far since the northeast monsoon started in October.

In Metro Manila, the temperature may still fall to 18.4 degrees Celsius this February, according to Solis.

The lowest temperature recorded in Metro Manila, so far, was 19 degrees Celsius, registered at the PAGASA Science Garden in Quezon City last Jan. 18.

“There’s still a chance of northeast monsoon surge until February,” Solis said.

The lowest recorded temperature in Baguio was 6.3 degrees Celsius on Jan. 18, 1961.

Meanwhile, the coldest day in Metro Manila was registered twice on Feb. 4, 1987 and Dec. 30, 1988, at 15.1 degrees Celsius.

January and February are generally the coldest months in the Philippines as this is the period when the northeast monsoon reaches its peak, the weather bureau said.