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Heat Index in the PH: No, It’s Not Good That Things Are Heating Up!

by Kevyn Gohu
March 4, 2025

While the Philippines is known for crazy levels of heat, the heat index is so bad now that schools even cancel classes because of it

Class suspensions in the Philippines aren’t unusual. We’ve had it when typhoons were too strong, transport strikes, school-associated holidays, etc. But having them because of the extreme heat can be a little concerning. With PAGASA predicting the heat index in the Philippines hitting almost 46 degrees Celsius and after a teacher’s group calling for class suspension, DepEd has allowed schools to suspend classes on both Monday and Tuesday in certain areas.

How did things get so hot to begin with?

While the Philippines has always been a humid and warm country, the amount of heat varies depending on the environment. From the amount of trees to buildings, to the amount of cars filling the streets, it’s why certain areas in the Philippines can feel colder than others. The Philippine weather agency, PAGASA, is usually the one that predicts these things, posting the readings of the different areas on their online channels or circulating them through various news agencies.

So, for those living in Manila, it’s no surprise that the heat index can reach up to the 40s. With the amount of buildings and cars overwhelming the amount of greenery that’s responsible for lowering the temperature, it’s hard for Nature to do its work to make the space livable. With Metro Manila now being mostly stone, metal, asphalt, and glass, most families living in the city are left to cook in the heat (Magnaye and Kusaka, 2024).

Extreme heat is just as bad as typhoon season

While typhoons are notorious for destroying homes with their heavy rainfall and howling winds, the extreme heat can burn or dry up crops and even cause health problems for those who are already suffering from both heart and lung problems. The hot and dry air can burn the lungs, while the heat forces our hearts to work harder to maintain our body temperature at 37 degrees (Lu, 2022). As mammals and warm-blooded creatures, our bodies work hard to stay at a certain temperature so we don’t get heat strokes or “cook” our organs (Bayram et. al, 2023; Bell et. al, 2024).

But don’t schools have air conditioning? Not all of them! Besides, even with air conditioning, the machine itself will have to work harder to circulate the cool air. Assuming the traditional classroom of around 40 kids, it’ll have to work hard to maintain the room temperature since it’s also managing 40 different body temperatures.

It's the start of summer and the heat is rising in PH.

Can families do anything to fight the scorching heat?

Besides keeping ourselves cool by drinking ice-cold water, some studies have revealed that eating more water-rich vegetables and fruits like cucumber, watermelon, strawberry, and spinach can help replenish our bodies with water. Eating meat causes our bodies to heat up because we need more energy to burn and convert the protein into energy. But because vegetables are less dense than meat, we won’t feel as hot (Jideani et. al, 2021; Afrouzi et. al, 2023; O’Malley et. al, 2023; Da Silva et. al, 2023; Mesquita and Carvalho, 2024).

Other ways to reduce the heat at home would be switching out some of the dark colored linens to lighter ones. White, light blue, or any color on the cool color spectrum can help maintain things. Clothes can follow the same rule to ensure people don’t overheat.

Will the extreme heat be a one-time thing? While the Philippines is known to be unpredictable in its weather and temperature, it’s best to assume that the heat is here to stay and that the best way to combat it is to adjust our lifestyle to it.

References

Afrouzi, H. N., Ahmed, J., Siddique, B. M., Khairuddin, N., & Hassan, A. (2023). A comprehensive review on carbon footprint of regular diet and ways to improving lowered emissions. Results in Engineering, 18, 101054.

Bayram, H., Rice, M. B., Abdalati, W., Akpinar Elci, M., Mirsaeidi, M., Annesi-Maesano, I., Pinkerton, K. E., & Balmes, J. R. (2023). Impact of global climate change on pulmonary health: susceptible and vulnerable populations. Annals of the American Thoracic Society, 20(8), 1088-1095.

Bell, M. L., Gasparrini, A., & Benjamin, G. C. (2024). Climate change, extreme heat, and health. New England Journal of Medicine, 390(19), 1793-1801.

Jideani, A. I., Silungwe, H., Takalani, T., Omolola, A. O., Udeh, H. O., & Anyasi, T. A. (2021). Antioxidant-rich natural fruit and vegetable products and human health. International Journal of Food Properties, 24(1), 41-67.

Lu, J. L. (2022). Correlation of climate change indicators with health and environmental data in the Philippines. Acta Medica Philippina, 56(1).

Magnaye, A. M. T., & Kusaka, H. (2024). Potential effect of urbanization on extreme heat events in Metro Manila Philippines using WRF-UCM. Sustainable Cities and Society, 110, 105584.

Mesquita, C., & Carvalho, M. (2024). The carbon footprint of common vegetarian and non-vegetarian meals in Portugal: An estimate, comparison, and analysis. The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 29(12), 2169-2183.

O’Malley, K., Willits-Smith, A., & Rose, D. (2023). Popular diets as selected by adults in the United States show wide variation in carbon footprints and diet quality. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 117(4), 701-708.

Da Silva, T. T. C., Falco, B. B., De Castro, I. G., Zanon, R. B., Guerra, J. V. V., Yaginuma, K. Y., Oliveira, V., & De Oliveira, A. G. D. M. (2023). Carbon, Water, Ecological Footprints, Energy and Nutritional Densities of Omnivore and Vegan Culinary Preparations. Food and Nutrition Sciences, 14(7), 626-637.