Climate of the Philippines
The Philippines has five types of climates: tropical rainforest, tropical monsoon, tropical savanna, humid subtropical and oceanic (both are in higher-altitude areas) 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). Based on temperature, the warmest 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 and managed by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA). Rainfall 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 () 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 (), 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 in the mountainous east coast section of the country, to less than 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 – , 15th – , 16th – , 17th – ; followed by extraordinary drought from October 1911 to May 1912, so that the annual amount of those two years were hardly noticeable. Typhoons The Philippines sit across the typhoon belt, making dangerous storms 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 an average of 28 storms and/or typhoons per year enter the PAR (Philippine Area of Responsibility) – the designated area assigned to PAGASA to monitor during weather disturbances. Those that made landfall or crossed the Philippines, the average was nine per year. In 1993, a record 19 typhoons made landfall in the country making it the most in one year. The fewest per year were 4 during the years 1955, 1958, 1992, and 1997. PAGASA categorises typhoons into five types according to