BACOLOD CITY, PHILIPPINES — Four mayors in Western Visayas requested the suspension of classes for two days starting Monday due to “extreme caution” to “dangerous” temperatures, according to the state weather bureau.
Classes were ordered suspended in Iloilo City as well as in the cities of Bacolod and Kabankalan, and Enrique B. Magalona town in Negros Occidental province after the heat index was forecast at 42ºC.
The heat index is the average temperature the human body feels, or what the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) describes as the “human discomfort index.”
Pagasa has the following classification for the heat index: 27ºC to 32ºC (caution); 33ºC to 41ºC (extreme caution); 42ºC to 51ºC (danger); and 52ºC and beyond (extreme danger).
With Iloilo City recording a heat index of 42ºC on Monday and expected to reach 43ºC in the coming days, Mayor Jerry Treñas ordered the suspension of classes until Tuesday.
In Bacolod, preschool, elementary, secondary, and senior high levels were suspended.
“[These classes] are once again encouraged to adopt alternative delivery modes for instructional methods to benefit their students,” Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said.
But he gave private schools with air-conditioned rooms and tertiary-level institutions the discretion to continue with in-person classes.
Kabankalan Mayor Benjie Miranda suspended classes at all levels in his city on Monday but said classes would resume on Tuesday unless he extended his executive order.
Mayor Marvin Malacon of Enrique B. Magalona ordered the shift of classes online and advised the public to “stay hydrated, drink plenty of water, stay indoors, especially during the hottest part of the day, and wear light clothing.”
In Capiz, Mayor Ronnie Dadivas of the provincial capital of Roxas also ordered the suspension of classes on Monday. Roxas City is expected to have a heat index of 44ºC on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The national capital region had a heat index of 41ºC on Monday. It is expected to reach 43ºC later in the week. Health authorities warn that extreme heat can cause dehydration, cramps, exhaustion, and heatstroke.
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