OFFICIAL STATEMENT ON CREATING EXTREME HEAT PROTOCOL
12 April 2024
PRESS STATEMENT
DOST-PAGASA S&T Media Service
12 April, 2024, Quezon City
DOST-PAGASA appreciates the trust and confidence given by its various stakeholders in the information it provides. For heat-related information, daily monitoring and forecasts of air temperature and heat index are regularly being provided. Its currently existing heat index monitoring and early warning system provides information on the past 5-day and forecasts for the next two days of the daily highest heat index. A 4-tier effect-based classification is used, emphasizing the combined effects of temperature and humidity on the human body, which primarily aims to serve as a guide for raising public awareness of the potential heat-related health impacts and promote adaptive strategies. Despite this, PAGASA acknowledges the limitations of its existing extreme heat-related warnings and welcomes the suggestion to tailor such information in the decision-making process, such as an extreme heat protocol relevant to school activities.
Considering the foregoing, efforts are being made to improve the heat index monitoring and early warning system for the country. The agency’s technical working group on heat index operational issuance is exploring methods and resources to address challenges in the availability of data.
At the moment, our recommendation is that the recipients of heat-related information provided by PAGASA (e.g., the local government units, school heads, etc.) should have the final say on the decision-making process guided by the information that they received from the agency. Considerations were mainly the different levels of impacts extreme heat might have on different sectors.
For more information, you may reach us by phone at 8284-0800 local 4910 (Impact Assessment and Applications Section) or through email at iaascad17@gmail.com
Originally Signed:
NATHANIEL T. SERVANDO, Ph.D.
Administrator
More Press Release
19 September 2019
There are posts related to a “Haze Bulletin” allegedly issued by PAGASA that are currently
circulating online and being shared in variou...
09 August 2019
The weak El Niño which started since the last quarter of 2018 had ended. The warmer than average sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the tropical Pacific Ocean h...
Read more06 July 2019
Weak El Niño condition which started since the last quarter of 2018 had persisted in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific (CEEP). The warmer than average ...
Read more21 June 2019
El Niño conditions continue in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific (CEEP). Since the last quarter of 2018, warmer than the normal sea surface temperature...
Read more14 May 2019
El Niño conditions still persist in the tropical Pacific Ocean. Warmer than average sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA) in the central and eastern equatorial...
Read more04 April 2019
El Niño conditions which started to develop since the last quarter of 2018 continue to persist in the tropical Pacific. Majority of climate models suggest aroun...
Read more