Climate, Seasons & Weather In The Philippines Islands

There are five climate types or climates in the Philippines. Each climate is tropical or subtropical in nature due to the Philippine islands proximity to the equator.

Humidity

The Philippine islands proximity to the equator and being surrounded by the ocean causes oppressive humidity levels which peak at 85 percent humidity from the months of March to May.

Temperature

The temperature in the Philippines varies slightly depending on which philippine island you are on and how close the island is to the equator.

Northern Luzon for instance, being farther north and positioned farthest from the equator is slightly cooler than the southern islands, positioned closer to the equator with a more stable and slightly hotter temperature all year around.

Metro Manila & The Urban Heat Island Effect

Metro Manila, located in Southwest Luzon or Northern Philippines have slightly hotter temperatures than the area surrounding Manila. Although the temperature increase is only 1 or 2 degree's Celsius, the actual 'felt temperature' is much greater than other areas in northern Philippines.

This is attributed to the materials used in the surrounding buildings and roads. Concrete and asphalt absorb and retain the heat from the sun, causing heat to radiate not only from the sunshine, but also from the surrounding concrete buildings and asphalt roads and other building materials.

This phenominon is known as the "urban heat island effect" and only known to happen when an urban area becomes highly industrialized.

Metro Manila is known as the 'Concrete Jungle' and is highly populated which causes the city to be packed with concrete buildings and roads and asphalt highways and freeways that suck up the suns energy and radiate it throughout the city during the day and night.

This also makes the nights feel hotter due to that stored energy being released during the night time hours.

Seasons

There are only two seasons in the Philippines. Wet season which starts in June, and dry season which starts in December.

Wet season starts in June and ends in November, bringing with it torrential rains and humidity while dry season starts in December and ends in the month of May which brings with it sustained humid heat both day and night, though naturally less humid than the wet season.

Weather

The weather is both rainy and humid during the wet season and the Philippines is frequented by many typhoons, or hurricanes during its wet season which is from the months of June to November with the highest amount of typhoons or hurricanes hitting in the month of August.

The dry season months of December to May are generally free of typhoons or hurricanes and the temperatures get hotter, peaking from March to the month of May.

Major Storm Frequencies

The Philippines are hit by between 18 and 20 typhoons, (also known as hurricanes) a year and the islands have the highest number of typhoons or hurricanes in the world.

The typhoon season in the Philippines is all year around. Typhoons or hurricanes tend to hit more in the wet season than the dry season however.

Typhoons Versus Hurricanes Or Cyclones

What is the difference between a typhoon, hurricane or cyclone? There is no difference except the location in which they occur.

When they occur in the Atlantic and Northest Pacific then the term hurricane is used, and when they occur in the Northwest pacific, the term typhoon or cyclone is used to describe the weather phenominon.

A typhoon or hurricane is simply a cyclone who's sustained wind speeds have reached at least 74 mph, or 119 kph. 64 knots or higher.