The Climate of the Philippines is either tropical rainforest, tropical savanna or tropical monsoon, or humid subtropical (in higher-altitude areas) characterized by relatively high temperature, oppressive humidity and plenty of rainfall. There are two seasons in the country, the wet season and the dry season, based upon the amount of rainfall.
Four types of tropical and maritime climates are found: a dry and a rainy season; no dry season; not very pronounced seasons; annd an even distribution of rain throughout the year.
There are four recognized climate types in the Philippines, and they are based on the distribution of rainfall (See the Philippine Climate Map). They are described as follows:
- Type I. Two pronounced season: dry from November to April and wet during the rest of the year.
- Type II. No dry season with a pronounced rainfall from November to January.
- Type III. Seasons are not very pronounced, relatively dry from November to April, and wet during the rest of the year.
- Type IV. Rainfall is more or less evenly distributed throughout the year.
Relative humidity is high in the Philippines. A high amount of moisture or vapor in the air makes hot temperatures feel hotter. This quantity of moisture is due to different factors - the extraordinary evaporationprevailing winds in the different seasons from the seas that surrounds the country on all sides, to the different of the year, and finally, to the abundant rains so common in a tropical country. The first may be considered as general causes of the great humidity, which is generally observed in all our islands throughout the year. The last two may influence the different degree of humidity for the different months of the year and for the different regions of the Archipelago.
Bagyo is the local term to any tropical cyclone in the Philippine Islands. From the statistics gathered by PAGASA from 1948 to 2004, around an average of 20 typhoons per year enter the PAR (Philippine Area of Responsibility) - the designated area assigned to PAGASA to monitor during weather disturbances. Those that made landfall or crossed the Philippines, the average was nine per year. In 1993, a record 19 typhoons made landfall in the country making it the most in one year. The least amount per year were 4 during the years 1955, 1958, 1992 and 1997.
Typhoons are categorized into four types according to its wind speed by the PAGASA. All tropical cyclones, regardless of strength, are named by PAGASA.
- Tropical Depressions have maximum sustained winds of between 55 kilometres per hour (30 kn) and 64 kilometres per hour (35 kn) near its center.
- Tropical Storms have maximum sustained winds of 65 kilometres per hour (35 kn) and 119 kilometres per hour (64 kn).
- Typhoons achieve maximum sustained winds of 120 kilometres per hour (65 kn) to 185 kilometres per hour (100 kn),
- Super typhoons having maximum winds exceeding 185 kilometres per hour (100 kn).
The deadliest typhoon to impact the Philippines was Typhoon Uring (Thelma) in November, 1991, in which 5,080 lives were lost from its resultant flooding and over 1,200 went missing
The highest wind velocity recorded for a typhoon that crossed the Philippines was recorded in Virac on November 30, 2006 when Typhoon Reming (Durian) had a peak gust of 320 km/h (198 mph)
Typhoons are given feminine names. They follow the the Filipino alphabet of 19 letters which is about the average number of cyclones entering the Philippine area of responsibility, i.e. the area near The Country for which the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) is responsible for tracking and reporting. It doesn't mean that PAGASA is responsible for the typhoon. If a particular typhoon causes destruction of one billion pesos or the death of 300 or more people then that name is removed from the list of names that PAGASA uses, otherwise the same name may occur in subsequent years. Some storms whose names have been removed in the past 10 years are Aring (1980); Nitang and Undang (1984); Herming and Sisang (1987); and Unsang and Yoning (1988).
There are several intensities of typhoons, which are usually announced in advance in the newspapers, on radio and TV. Signal 1 is the weakest. When signal 2 has been announced, elementary and high schools and some offices and shops are closed, still depending on the flood conditions. During a signal 3, all schools, government offices and most private offices are closed.
But even with signal 1, things start going haywire. There are traffic jams because of the floods, and employees in many businesses come late.
The actual typhoon generally takes only 1 day. But often the day before and the day after also are rainy and windy. It is easy to determine whether the eye of a typhoon is passing because there is neither rain nor wind but is sunny and calm.
Some areas of Metro Manila become almost inaccessible after several hours of heavy rain. This is negligible in Ermita, Malate and Makati, but Tondo, Sampaloc, parts of Quezon City, and outskirts of the metropolis like Valenzuela and Taguig are always strongly affected.
Every year typhoons cause hundreds of people to die, not to mention large economic losses The Country suffers each time the weather gets severe. The worst typhoons in the last few years were: Sisang, November 26, 1987, which killed more than 650 people in the Bicol region of south Luzon and rendered more than 500,000 homeless; Gading, July 6-10, 1985 with almost 100 dead; and Undang, which left almost 900 dead when it swept over the Visayas November 3, 1984.
The weather predictions of PAGASA, are generally reliable. Sometimes the forecast goes wrong, but one has to admit that the weather itself at times does not behave as it should. It has been known for a typhoon to swing back on itself and to return.
The rainy season is not necessarily a bad time to visit the city since the sky is cloudy, shielding one from the burning heat of the sun, and the temperature is comfortable with a soft breeze. Moreover, aside from times of typhoons it often rains only for two or three hours, usually in the afternoon.The mean annual temperature is 26.5C (80F). Temperatures are measured in the Philippines in degrees Celsius.
