March 31 was hottest day in RP so far in '05

By Dino Balabo, Central Luzon Bureau  MALOLOS CITY: Unknown to most, March 31 was the hottest day in the country so far this year when the thermometer hit 37.2 degrees Celsius in Caba­natuan City. But this year’s record, which may still be beaten as the summer plods on, was a far cry from the all-time record of 42.2 degrees Celsius, which was recorded twice in Tuguegarao City.  The first time on April 29, 1912, while the second on May 11, 1969, according to Flaviana Hilario, head of the Climate Information, Monitoring and Prediction Service Center of the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration. Hilario told The Manila Times that the Cabanatuan City record of March 31 was followed by General Santos City in South Cotabato, which posted a temperature of 36.6 degrees Celsius, also in March. For the months of January and February, General Santos City’s climate edged Central Luzon’s, but Central Luzon’s temperature did not fall far behind. Climpsc’s records for January show that General Santos’s temperature was pegged at 35.0 degrees Celsius compared to Central Luzon’s 33.7 degrees Celsius on January 27, while GenSan recorded a high 36.0 degree Celsius in February compared to Central Luzon’s 35.6 degree Celsius on February 25. Meanwhile, water elevation at the giant Angat Dam in Nor­zagaray, Bulacan, continues to plunge. Rodolfo Santos, head of the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council Office, said water elevation at the giant reservoir that supplies 97 percent of Metro Manila’s water requirement dropped to 179.24 meters. However, the National Power Corp. office based at Hilltop, Norzagaray, said farmers will continue to have water for irrigation despite the drop. Cecille Pellejo, information officer of the Angat Hydro Electric Power Plant,  confirmed that Napocor has not shut down its main power turbines to meet the water requirements of rice lands in Bulacan and Pampanga. Meanwhile, the Bulacan mayors’ league, led by Mayor Boy Cruz of Guiguinto, renewed its call to conserve water and electricity. “We must see to it that we have a surplus of water and electricity until the summer is over because we do not know when the rains will come,” Cruz said, citing Pagasa’s El Niño advisory that Central Luzon will face warmer and drier conditions in the weeks ahead.