Benguet temp drops to lowest

The municipality of La Trinidad in Benguet Province recorded on Saturday its lowest temperature so far this month due to the northeast monsoon, or Amihan, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration.

The weather bureau’s Agrometeorological Station in Benguet State University registered on Saturday, 13 January, 13.0 degrees Celsius in La Trinidad.

Due to the cold weather experienced in the northern Luzon province, some farmlands in Benguet are now covered in frost.

Local farmer PJ Haight from Paoay, Atok, shared Facebook photos of crops covered in frost on Friday morning at an 8-degree Celsius temperature.

“[These are] cabbage, carrots, radish, and Chinese cabbage (wombok),” said Haight to the DAILY TRIBUNE.

Haight said that the situation is not new and that it is a normal occurrence that farmers can manage to avoid having a significant impact on their produce.

He, however, noted that, if prolonged, frost can badly affect the quality of their crops.

"The plants will be really damaged especially if there is a prolonged frost," Haight said.

"Our only solution is to sprinkle water to melt the ice before the sun rises," he added.

Haight said that since the andap season in Benguet has begun, they are expecting a heavier frost towards February due to the dropping of temperatures.

In an interview, a weather specialist attributed these phenomena to temperature drops in Atok compared to other cities.