Due to the intense heat and the nationwide jeepney drivers’ strike, the Philippines will postpone in-person instruction in all public elementary and high schools today and tomorrow, the Department of Education announced on Sunday.

Southeast Asia has been scorched by extreme heat in recent weeks, forcing local and national government authorities to issue health warnings and thousands of schools to suspend in-person operations.

Students in the Philippines’ many schools suffer in stuffy, inadequately ventilated classrooms as many of them lack air conditioning.

“In view of the latest heat index forecast... and the announcement of a nationwide transport strike, all public schools nationwide shall implement asynchronous classes/distance learning on 29 and 30 April 2024,” the department said on Facebook.

The DepEd oversees more than 47,000 schools across the archipelago nation. The Commission on Higher Education is in charge of tertiary education in the country.

Some jeepney drivers belonging to PISTON (Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide) also plan to hold a three-day nationwide strike starting Monday to protest the government’s plan to phase out the smoke-belching jeepneys used by many Filipinos to commute to work and school.

Hottest ever

The suspension of in-person classes comes after Manila recorded its highest-ever temperature.

The temperature in the city hit a record high of 38.8 degrees Celsius (101.8 degrees Fahrenheit) on Saturday with the heat index reaching 45C, data from the state weather forecaster showed.

The heat index measures what a temperature feels like, taking into account humidity.

The hot weather persisted on Sunday with many people flocking to air-conditioned shopping malls and swimming pools for relief.

“This is the hottest I’ve ever experienced here,” said Nancy Bautista, 65, whose resort in Cavite province near Manila was fully booked due to the hot weather. “Many of our guests are friends and families. They swim in the pool to fight the heat.”

The months of March, April and May are typically the hottest and driest of the year, but this year’s conditions have been exacerbated by the El Niño weather phenomenon.

Until May

“All places in the country, not necessarily just Metro Manila, are expected to have hotter temperatures until the second week of May,” Glaiza Escullar of the state weather forecaster told AFP.

“There is a possibility that the areas will exceed those temperatures being measured today until the second week of May.”

Camiling municipality in Tarlac province, north of Manila, recorded a temperature of 40.3C on Saturday — the country’s highest this year.

As the mercury rose, Gerise Reyes, 31, planned to take her two-year-old daughter to a shopping mall near Manila.

“It’s hot here at home. This is the hottest I’ve ever experienced especially between 10 a.m. and 4 pm,” she said. “We need a free aircon to cut our electricity bill.”

Global temperatures hit record highs last year, and the United Nations’ weather and climate agency said Tuesday that Asia was warming at a particularly rapid pace.

The Philippines ranks among the countries most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

Teaching and non-teaching personnel will likewise not be required to report to their respective stations, while private schools, which are not covered by the advisory, may implement the same, according to DepEd.

However, DepEd said activities organized by Regional and Schools Division Offices, such as Regional Athletic Association meets and other division or school level programs on the said dates, may push through, “provided that measures for the safety of all participants have been carefully considered.”

The two-day suspension of face-to-face classes follows the latest forecast of the weather bureau PAGASA, showing that a dangerous heat index of 42 to 51C may be felt in more than 30 areas on Monday.

PAGASA said Aparri in Cagayan is expected to have the highest heat index at 46C, followed by Dagupan City in Pangasinan and Tuguegarao City in Cagayan, Ambulong in Tanauan, Batangas, Coron, and Aborlan in Palawan, San Jose in Occidental Mindoro, Virac (Synop) in Catanduanes, and Roxas City in Capiz which may all reach 46°C.

The transport protest is expected to paralyze public transportation in Metro Manila, including Alabang, Baclaran, Sucat, Taft Avenue, Agoncillo, Monumento, Novaliches, Litex, Anonas, Katipunan and Philcoa.