Bicol heat indices drop after soaring to record-high 50°C in Legazpi City, but…

By Ernesto Delgado

MASBATE CITY --- Legazpi City in Albay experienced cooler temperature Saturday after this dry season’s hottest day at 50 degrees Celsius scorched the regional center of Bicol the previous day.

May 13’s heat index in Legazpi was below 27°C after Friday’s record-high “real feel” temperature reached the “danger” category, according to records from the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).

Pagasa considers a heat index to be dangerous once it hits 42°C and above because it poses health risks such as heat cramps and heat exhaustion, with a heat stroke probable with continued exposure to the extreme heat.

The state weather bureau said heat index refers to how the temperature feels like in one’s body.

The other location in Bicol that experienced temporary relief from the blazing heat on Saturday was Masbate City in the island-province of Masbate, whose heat index went down to 40°C from 43°C the previous day, according to an advisory from Pagasa station here.

While this was a refreshing break from the string of over 40°C indices that hit Legazpi and the rest of the region the last several days, the weather bureau’s forecasts, however, suggested that Bicolanos would still have to bear with the soaring temperatures in the succeeding days.

A heat index of up to 43 degrees Celsius is forecast for Legazpi on Sunday through Tuesday, May 14-16, while a heat index of 43°C is forecast for Masbate City on Sunday and up to 42°C on Monday and Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the towns of Juban in Sorsogon, Daet in Camarines Norte and Virac in Catanduanes can expect heat indices lower than 42°C. Just the same, temperatures of 33°C -37°C still fall under the extreme caution category on Pagasa’s heat index chart. (PIA5/Masbate)