MANILA (ANN/THE PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER) – The Philippines ranked third in Asia among countries with the most “unusual heat” caused by climate change within the last three months, scientists from the nonprofit group Climate Central said.
In a report released on Wednesday, scientists found that the Philippines experienced temperatures reaching Climate Shift Index (CSI) level 2, or higher for 74 days. This means temperatures during those days were most likely due to the effects of climate change.
The CSI is a system developed by Climate Central that measures the local impact of climate change on a country’s daily temperatures. The higher the level, the greater the impact of climate change detected.
200,000 Filipinos exposed
Through this system, scientists found that “human-caused climate change increased heat-related health risks for billions and made extreme heat events more likely around the globe.”
“During the past three months (December, January and February), the effects of human-induced climate change—mainly from burning coal, oil and methane gas—were evident in most regions of the world, particularly in the form of extreme heat,” the report stated.
“Over the last three months, nearly 554 million people across 10 countries in Asia experienced daily average temperatures that were strongly influenced by climate change (defined as CSI 2 or higher) for at least one-third of the season (30 or more days),” Climate Central said.
The report also stated that “more than 45 million people across the continent were exposed to at least 30 risky heat days that were added by climate change.”
In the Philippines, almost 200,000 Filipinos were said to have been exposed out of the 116 million total population.
Hot Manila
Scientists also found that among the world’s 38 “megacities” — those with population over 10 million — Manila was included in the 11 areas reported to have “endured heat that was strongly influenced by climate change.”
The country’s capital experienced 69 days of temperatures that reached CSI level 2 or higher, placing third below Lagos in Nigeria, with 89 days, and Tamil Nadu in India (81).
The Philippines also ranked eighth among Asian countries with the most number of “risky heat” days caused by climate change with two days in the last three months.
Risky heat refers to temperatures hotter than 90 percent of that observed in a local area from 1991 to 2020. “Heat-related health risks rise when temperatures climb above this local threshold,” Climate Central pointed out.
Timor-Leste ranked first in Asia with the most number of risky heat days added by climate change at 22 days, while Indonesia placed second with 16.
In calculating the CSI, the study used data from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts.
In total, it analyzed 220 countries and territories, as well as 940 cities around the world. Population estimates were drawn from Encyclopedia Britannica and the Gridded Population of the World collection by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the United States.
