While the country suffered from the onslaught of Typhoon Egay, which claimed at least 39 lives, including three drowning victims in Negros Occidental, my friend in Arizona in the United States has been adjusting to the extreme heat that is searing across the northern hemisphere.
The Egay death toll in the country includes 29 who perished when the boat transporting them capsized off Binangonan town in Rizal province.
National reports indicated that the strong winds and torrential rains affected about half a million Filipinos in 45 provinces located in 13 regions along the path of the internationally-known Doksuri typhoon.
Just as Egay exited, the weather agency is monitoring another major weather disturbance approaching the country’s area of responsibility.
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“We go to the carwash station three to four times a week now, unlike the lone weekly trip we made before,” said my friend, Honey Grace Cabangbang, who is under a teaching exchange program in Nogales, a southwestern city near the Mexican border.
Carwash is needed to cool our vehicle down, she said, adding that because of the needed frequency of trips to the station, they are availing of the promotional offer for carwash services.
So extreme is the heat that there has been reports of drivers and passengers getting burned by seat-belt buckles and constantly sweating one’s sunscreen off.
Daytime temperature at Nogales these days reach as high as 37° Celsius (98.6°F).
Ma’am Grace expressed relief that her city is not as hot as other areas in the state, although she said sometime this week the temperature could reach 44°.
In Phoenix, located about 2 1/2 hours away north of Nogales, summer heat has given the city the reputation of being the No. 1 hottest big city in the United States, with Miami in Florida and Honolulu in Hawaii just behind it.
Most of the year, temperatures range from the 90s to 100s.
It’s the only large city to measure over 100 days a year of temperatures in the 100s, and over 160 days a year of at least 90 degrees, CURRENT RESULTS reported in its weather-focused online platform.
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Earlier this month, CNN reported that the World Meteorological Organization and the European Union’s Copernicus have declared that “July is the planet’s hottest on record by far – and hottest in around 120,000 years.” June to August are the summer months in the Northern Hemisphere.
Add to the phenomenon the heavy rains that occur in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic areas.
And substantiating that claim is the Associated Press story that nearly 60 percent, or about 200 million people, in United States are under heat or flood advisories.
The advisories and warnings are due to spreading high temperatures spread and new areas expecting severe storms.
Climate change is the reason, as shown in an excerpt of the AP explanation:
“Scientists have long warned that climate change, driven by the burning of fossil fuels, will lead to more and prolonged bouts of extreme weather.”
The outcome: Vast swaths of three continents bake under blistering temperatures and the oceans heat to unprecedented levels, CNN said.
Reports further said that as temperatures have risen above 120 degrees Fahrenheit (50 degrees Celsius) in parts of the United States, heat-related deaths have mounted and people are suffering life-threatening burns from falling onto scorching hot ground.
The high temperatures further contribute to the global toll as wildfires raze in several continents causing destruction to lives and property and also pose serious challenges to food security.
There is also ocean heat – at unprecedented record levels. WMO sums up the levels in July with this statement from its secretary-general,
Petteri Taalas: It’s the harsh reality of climate change, a declaration that apparently prompted authorities to pose the challenge: “Climate action is not a luxury but a must.”
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National PRISAA champion runner Rogen Aguirre of Sagay City is grateful to Negros Now Daily and Negros Weekly for the front page report of his three gold medal-haul in Zamboanga City early this month.
Our report led to the scheduling of his courtesy call on July 24 with Sagay City Mayor Narciso Javelosa Jr. through Executive Assistant Benson Fernandez, who is in charge of sports development programs in the city.
The mayor and the sports officer congratulated Aguirre and his family and gave him cash incentives.
Aguirre, a fresh Education graduate of Central Philippine University, represented Western Visayas in the national sports event, where he topped all three middle and long-distance events – 3,000m steeplechase, 5k and 10k runs.
Earlier, at the pre-graduation honors program at CPU, where he was a working student, Rogen was presented the Edwin C. Laruan Memorial Sports Award for the top individual athlete of the year.
I really appreciate your report and for helping arrange my courtesy call with Mayor Javelosa, he told NND and NWI, adding it has been his long desire to meet the chief executive of the city.
I thank God for giving me this talent and also all those who supported me along the way, he further said.
He is looking forward to higher and competitions and the opportunity to share his skills and experiences to young athletes as a coach as well as hurdling the licensure exam for teachers.
Again, thanks for the support, he said.
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Its rising is from one end of the heavens, and its circuit to the other end of them; and there is nothing hidden from its heat. (Psalm 19:6) – NWI
