BAGUIO CITY—Temperatures in the country’s undisputed Summer Capital have started to drop over the past few days, and got to 11 degrees Celsius on Monday morning, the coldest so far this year.
Wilson Locando, a weather specialist with the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration or Pagasa, said the cold spell in Baguio and other elevated areas in Benguet and Mountain Province will extend to early March.
The temperature is expected to drop further with the prevailing enhanced northeast monsoon, Locando added.
The lowest temperature recorded by Pagasa in Baguio was 6.3 degrees Celsius on Jan. 18, 1961, while the fifth lowest mark was 7.5 degrees Celsius recorded on Jan. 15, 2009.
Baguio’s temperature started to drop to 13 degrees Celsius in the first week of January from the usual 15 to 16-degrees morning temperature, before dropping four degrees more as recorded by weathermen early Monday.
Locando said Baguio’s cold spell usually prevails from November to March every year, but the coldest days happen during January and February, when the enhanced northeast monsoon or “amihan” in the vernacular is at its peak.
With the sudden chill in Baguio, health authorities urged the public to prepare for the resurgence of cold weather illnesses “that would significantly affect their productivity in their work and responsibilities in their personal life.”
Dr. Lakshmi Legaspi, Cordillera regional director of the Department of Health, said residents and visitors to Baguio and the highlands must make sure they protect themselves from respiratory illness and mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue, Chikungunya, and Zika.
They also need to watch out for food and water-borne illnesses and strengthen their immune system, Legaspi added.
Dr. Rowena Galpo, City Health Services Officer, reminded residents and visitors to keep themselves warm by wearing thick clothes to combat the serious negative effects of the cold to their health.
Galpo noted that common respiratory illnesses during this time of the year include cough and colds, pneumonia, bronchitis, and asthma, among others.
She expressed confidence that with the regular cool weather in Baguio from November to February, people know how to protect themselves by now.
The public must also brace for the expected increase in influenza-like illnesses that could result in dengue fever, considering that dengue is now a year-round illness that could increase anytime once the immune system is not strong enough to combat the virus, Galpo said.
She appealed to Baguio natives and tourists to seek early medical attention once they contract any illness in the city, so they could be properly diagnosed by the personnel assigned to the different health facilities in the city and regionwide.