ILOILO City – Ilonggos, especially those with health issues associated with heat, are being alerted to prepare for the approaching “hot dry” season. They could possibly experience heat cramps and heat stroke, warned the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).
“Kon mataas ang ma-expierence ta nga temperature, mas daku man ang aton heat index nga posible mabatyagan,” said weather specialist Ferdinand Rubin of Pagasa-Iloilo.
The climate of the country can be divided into two major seasons – the rainy season from June to November and the dry season, from December to May, according to Pagasa using temperature and rainfall as bases.
The dry season, it added, may be subdivided further into the “cool dry” season from December to February and the “hot dry” season, from March to May.
Right now, the country’s climate is in a transition from cool dry season to hot dry season. The northeast monsoon or hanging amihan is already weakening, according to Pagasa-Iloilo which has a Doppler weather radar and synoptic station in Barangay Buntatala, Jaro, Iloilo City.
“Amo na dapat preparahan ang hot dry season. Mas mataas ang aton ma-experience nga temperature,” Rubin stressed.
Those with health challenges must take extra precautions, Rubin said.
“Drink plenty of water. Wear light clothing. Indi sagi gwa sa initan kon indi importante, especially sa mga udto kag hapon,” he added.
On the other hand, according to Rubin, La Niña persists and likely to continue until May.
La Niña is a weather phenomenon characterized by unusually cool ocean surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific. In the Philippines, it manifests through above-normal rainfall conditions.
For its part, the Department of Health (DOH) said March to May is vacation time in the country. To avoid heat-associated ailments and recreation-associated injuries, the public is advised to take precautions.
At the beach, DOH said, people should observe the following:
* Do not allow children to swim without the company of an adult who can swim and is not drunk.
* Avoid staying under the sun with scanty clothes for more than three hours as this predisposes to sunburn, heat exhaustion and the worst, heat stroke.
* Should you want a tan, drink plenty of fluids so as not to dehydrate yourself.
On the other hand, while on the road:
* Check your vehicle very well before going on a trip.
* Bring your repair kit with you.
* When drunk, never attempt to drive./PN
