Philippines heat to reach ‘danger’ levels, hundreds of schools suspend classes

The index was expected to reach the “danger” level of 42 degrees Celsius in Manila on Tuesday and 43 degrees on Wednesday

A heat index of between 42–51 degrees can cause heat cramps and heat exhaustion, with heatstroke ‘probable with continued exposure’, the weather forecaster said

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Students use a cardboard to protect themselves from the sun during a hot day in Manila on Tuesday. More than a hundred schools in the Philippine capital shut their classrooms as the tropical heat hit “danger” levels. Photo: AFP

Published: 5:30pm, 2 Apr 2024Updated: 6:39pm, 2 Apr 2024

Hundreds of schools in the Philippines, including dozens in the capital Manila, suspended in-person classes on Tuesday due to dangerous levels of heat, education officials said.

The country’s heat index measures what a temperature feels like, taking into account humidity.

The index was expected to reach the “danger” level of 42 degrees Celsius in Manila on Tuesday and 43 degrees on Wednesday, with similar levels in a dozen other areas of the country, the state weather forecaster said.

The actual highest recorded temperature for the metropolis on Tuesday was 35.7 degrees, below the record of 38.6 degrees reached on May 17, 1915.

Local officials across the main island of Luzon, the central islands, and the southern island of Mindanao suspended in-person classes or shortened school hours to avoid the hottest part of the day, education ministry officials said.

A student uses a portable fan outside a school in Manila on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

The Department of Education was unable to provide an exact number of schools affected.