ALFONSO LISTA, Ifugao (PIA)– Alfonso Lista Mayor Edralin Alipio has extended the suspension of afternoon face-to-face or in-school classes in public primary, elementary, and secondary schools for the whole month of May 2024 due to dangerously high levels of heat index in the municipality. Said suspension is implemented through Executive Order No. 51, Series of 2024.
Prior to this, the mayor issued EO 48 suspending the afternoon face-to-face classes from April 25 until May 3, 2024 due to extreme heat conditions.
The Center for Energy Ecology and Development officially declared that extreme heat index forecasts should be treated as an emergency.
The Philippines Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration or PAGASA has also warned that the ‘Dangerous’ levels of heat index are present in over 39 areas across the country.
The heat index in the province ranges from 39-41 degrees Celsius.
Pagasa defines heat index as “a measure of the contribution that high humidity makes to abnormally high temperatures in reducing the body’s ability to cool itself.”
Heat indices ranging from 42 to 51 degrees Celsius fall under the “danger” category. People exposed to these heat indices are prone to heat cramps, exhaustion, and even heat stroke.
Alfonso Lista Mayor Edralin Alipio. Photo from LGU Alfonso Lista
Meanwhile, the lone university in the province recently issued a memorandum for a blended learning approach due to the extreme heat in the province. The three big campuses of the Ifugao State University incorporate synchronous, asynchronous, and limited face-to-face sessions. (FBR- PIA CAR, Ifugao)
