ASIATODAY.ID, JAKARTA – The Philippines will suspend teaching and learning activities in all state schools for two days due to the very hot weather and a strike by jeepney drivers. This was stated by the Philippine education department on Sunday, April 28 2024.
Extreme hot weather has hit Southeast Asia in recent weeks, prompting thousands of schools to suspend teaching and learning and authorities to issue health warnings. Many schools in the Philippines do not have air conditioning, leaving students sweltering in crowded, poorly ventilated classrooms.
“Given the latest heat index forecast and the nationwide transportation strike, all public schools across the country will learn remotely on April 29 and 30, 2024,” said the education department, which oversees more than 47,000 schools in the Philippines, as reported by CNA.
Some jeepney drivers plan to hold a three-day nationwide strike starting Monday. The action was carried out as a form of protest against the government’s plan to stop the use of smoke-emitting vehicles, which many Filipinos use to get to work and school.
The suspension of face-to-face classes came after Manila recorded its highest temperature ever. The temperature in the city hit a record high of 38.8 degrees Celsius on Saturday with the heat index reaching 45 degrees Celsius, according to data from the state weather forecaster.
The heat index measures what the temperature feels like, taking humidity into account. The hot weather continued on Sunday with many people flocking to air-conditioned shopping malls and swimming pools to seek relief.
“This is the hottest day I’ve ever had here,” said 65-year-old Nancy Bautista, whose resort in Cavite province near Manila was fully booked because of the heat.
March, April and May are usually the hottest and driest months of the year, but conditions this year are made worse by the El Nino weather phenomenon.
“Everywhere in the country, not just Metro Manila, is expected to experience hotter temperatures until the second week of May. It is possible that these areas will exceed the temperatures measured today until the second week of May,” said Glaiza Escullar , a forecaster in the Philippines.
The town of Camiling in Tarlac province, north of Manila, recorded a temperature of 40.3 degrees Celsius on Saturday. This is the highest temperature in the Philippines this year.
Global temperatures hit record highs last year, and the United Nations weather and climate agency said on Tuesday that Asia was warming at a rapid pace. The Philippines is one of the countries most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. (ATN)
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