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Climate of the Philippines
The Philippines has five types of climates: tropical rainforest, tropical monsoon, tropical savanna, humid subtropical and oceanic (the latter two are found in higher-altitude areas). The country overall is characterized by relatively high temperature, oppressive humidity and plenty of rainfall. There are two seasons in the country: the wet season and the dry season, based upon the amount of rainfall. This is also dependent on location in the country as some areas experience rain all throughout the year (see § Climate types). The warm months of the year are March through October; the winter monsoon brings cooler air from November to February. May is the warmest month, and January, the coolest.
Weather in the Philippines is monitored by the PAGASA (Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration).
Monsoons are large-scale sea breezes which occur when the temperature on land is significantly warmer or cooler than the temperature of the ocean. Most summer monsoons or southwest monsoons (Filipino: Habagat) have a dominant westerly component and a strong tendency to ascend and produce copious amounts of rain (because of the condensation of water vapor in the rising air). The intensity and duration, however, are not uniform from year to year. Winter monsoons or northeast monsoons (Filipino: Amihan), by contrast, have a dominant easterly component and a strong tendency to diverge, subside and cause drought.
The summer monsoon brings heavy rains to most of the archipelago from May to October. Annual average rainfall ranges from as much as 5,000 millimeters (197 in) in the mountainous east coast section of the country, to less than 1,000 millimeters (39 in) in some of the sheltered valleys. Monsoon rains, although hard and drenching, are not normally associated with high winds and waves.
At least 30 percent of the annual rainfall in the northern Philippines can be traced to tropical cyclones, while the southern islands receiving less than 10 percent of their annual rainfall from tropical cyclones. The wettest known tropical cyclone to impact the archipelago was the July 1911 cyclone, when the total precipitation for Baguio was distributed over the four days as: 14th – 879.8 mm (34.6 in), 15th – 733.6 mm (28.9 in), 16th – 424.9 mm (16.7 in), 17th – 200.4 mm (7.9 in); followed by extraordinary drought from October 1911 to May 1912, so that the annual amount of those two years were hardly noticeable.
The Philippine archipelago sits across the typhoon belt, where dangerous storms occur from July through October. Climate change exacerbates the situation with typhoons in the Philippines. Bagyo is the Filipino term for any tropical cyclone in the Philippine Islands. From the statistics gathered by PAGASA from 1948 to 2004, around 28 storms and/or typhoons per year enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) – the designated area assigned to PAGASA to monitor during weather disturbances. Of those that made landfall or crossed the Philippines, the average was nine per year. In 1993, a record nineteen typhoons made landfall in the country, making it the most in one year. The fewest per year were four during the years 1955, 1958, 1992, and 1997.
PAGASA categorizes typhoons into five types according to wind speed. Once a tropical cyclone enters the PAR, regardless of strength, it is given a local name for identification purposes by the media, government, and the general public.
The Philippines has experienced a number of extremely damaging tropical cyclones, particularly typhoons with sustained winds of at least 185 km/h (115 mph; 100 kn; 51 m/s). For a long time, the Philippines used a four-level warning system to alert citizens of incoming tropical cyclones that would make landfall in the country, but the extensive damage and loss of life caused by Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) in 2013 made it inadequate. Because of this, the warning system was increased to five levels, and a Super Typhoon (STY) category was adopted in 2015. Initially, super typhoons were defined as typhoons with maximum sustained winds of more than 220 km/h (140 mph; 120 kn; 61 m/s), but the threshold was lowered to those of at least 185 km/h (115 mph; 100 kn; 51 m/s) after PAGASA revised its system of wind signals in 2022.
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Climate of the Philippines
The Philippines has five types of climates: tropical rainforest, tropical monsoon, tropical savanna, humid subtropical and oceanic (the latter two are found in higher-altitude areas). The country overall is characterized by relatively high temperature, oppressive humidity and plenty of rainfall. There are two seasons in the country: the wet season and the dry season, based upon the amount of rainfall. This is also dependent on location in the country as some areas experience rain all throughout the year (see § Climate types). The warm months of the year are March through October; the winter monsoon brings cooler air from November to February. May is the warmest month, and January, the coolest.
Weather in the Philippines is monitored by the PAGASA (Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration).
Monsoons are large-scale sea breezes which occur when the temperature on land is significantly warmer or cooler than the temperature of the ocean. Most summer monsoons or southwest monsoons (Filipino: Habagat) have a dominant westerly component and a strong tendency to ascend and produce copious amounts of rain (because of the condensation of water vapor in the rising air). The intensity and duration, however, are not uniform from year to year. Winter monsoons or northeast monsoons (Filipino: Amihan), by contrast, have a dominant easterly component and a strong tendency to diverge, subside and cause drought.
The summer monsoon brings heavy rains to most of the archipelago from May to October. Annual average rainfall ranges from as much as 5,000 millimeters (197 in) in the mountainous east coast section of the country, to less than 1,000 millimeters (39 in) in some of the sheltered valleys. Monsoon rains, although hard and drenching, are not normally associated with high winds and waves.
At least 30 percent of the annual rainfall in the northern Philippines can be traced to tropical cyclones, while the southern islands receiving less than 10 percent of their annual rainfall from tropical cyclones. The wettest known tropical cyclone to impact the archipelago was the July 1911 cyclone, when the total precipitation for Baguio was distributed over the four days as: 14th – 879.8 mm (34.6 in), 15th – 733.6 mm (28.9 in), 16th – 424.9 mm (16.7 in), 17th – 200.4 mm (7.9 in); followed by extraordinary drought from October 1911 to May 1912, so that the annual amount of those two years were hardly noticeable.
The Philippine archipelago sits across the typhoon belt, where dangerous storms occur from July through October. Climate change exacerbates the situation with typhoons in the Philippines. Bagyo is the Filipino term for any tropical cyclone in the Philippine Islands. From the statistics gathered by PAGASA from 1948 to 2004, around 28 storms and/or typhoons per year enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) – the designated area assigned to PAGASA to monitor during weather disturbances. Of those that made landfall or crossed the Philippines, the average was nine per year. In 1993, a record nineteen typhoons made landfall in the country, making it the most in one year. The fewest per year were four during the years 1955, 1958, 1992, and 1997.
PAGASA categorizes typhoons into five types according to wind speed. Once a tropical cyclone enters the PAR, regardless of strength, it is given a local name for identification purposes by the media, government, and the general public.
The Philippines has experienced a number of extremely damaging tropical cyclones, particularly typhoons with sustained winds of at least 185 km/h (115 mph; 100 kn; 51 m/s). For a long time, the Philippines used a four-level warning system to alert citizens of incoming tropical cyclones that would make landfall in the country, but the extensive damage and loss of life caused by Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) in 2013 made it inadequate. Because of this, the warning system was increased to five levels, and a Super Typhoon (STY) category was adopted in 2015. Initially, super typhoons were defined as typhoons with maximum sustained winds of more than 220 km/h (140 mph; 120 kn; 61 m/s), but the threshold was lowered to those of at least 185 km/h (115 mph; 100 kn; 51 m/s) after PAGASA revised its system of wind signals in 2022.