New hottest day of the year registered Wednesday — PAGASA

Residents in Metro Manila on Wednesday went through the hottest day so far this year at 36.5 degrees Celsius, state weather forecasters said. In a phone interview with GMA News Online, forecaster Mario Palafox said the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) made the observation more than a week after Metro Manila experienced 36.1-degree heat. [See: Year's hottest day recorded in Metro Manila on Tuesday] Palafox said they recorded the new hottest temperature in Metro Manila for the year so far at 2:45 p.m. at the Science Garden in Quezon City. But he said it was even hotter in Tuguegarao in Cagayan province in northern Philippines, where temperatures soared up to 37.9 degrees as of 2 p.m. Wednesday. Palafox said the normal temperature for the month of May is 34.6 degrees Celsius. Past records The hottest temperature recorded by PAGASA in Metro Manila last year was 38 degrees Celsius. The highest temperature in Metro Manila — 38.5 degrees Celsius — was recorded on May 14, 1987. The highest temperature in the country, meanwhile, was recorded on April 29, 1912, when a sizzling 39.5 degrees Celsius was registered in Tuguegarao City in Cagayan Valley. — RSJ/KBK, GMA News