The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1899-06-11
CLIMATE OF MANILA.
Rainy Season Now at Hand and the
Heat is Less Intense.

Midsummer in the Philippines passed
out with the month of May. MAY is the
hottest month of the year in those far
off tropical islands, and corresponds to
August in our own country. From now
on the weather will become steadily
cooler there, and the rainy season will
| begin in earnest. That the cooler wealth.
| en- will come as Il boon to the men on
I! the fighting line and in the hospitals no
| one can doubt. There will be fewer
| casualties from heat pr0straton. and
| there is no reason why there should
| he I'm increased mortality from fever or
disease during the rainy season provided
| that suitable hospital facilities have
| been provided for the sick.
There are few places in the world
where the atmosphere contains great
| er degree of moisture than it does at
| Manila especially during the rainy sea-
SON Various predictions have been
made that our men will succumb to the
heat by the thousands when the rain
sets in. DR.. W. +. II. Phillips, Of
| WASHINGTON, who has made a special
study of the climatic conditions in the
Philippines, in the course or an inter
| view with reporter made Il statement
| that the increased moisture i'll the air
| there will prevent rather than increase
| sunstroke. DR.. Phillips is in charge Of
/ the section of climatOlogy at the United
| States Weather Bureau, and is the au-
| thor of various publications. on medical
climatoogy During the course of the
| interview he talked at some length on
! the general climatic conditions of the
| Philippines. and their probable effect
upon the American soldiers now putting
down the rebellion in those islands.
| Apropos of this, he said.
THE very high degree of moisture
| that prevails III the atmosphere of the
| Philippine Islands during the rainy sea-
son will ward off rather than Increase
| sunStroke. Concerning its exact effect
| upon our soldiers, We can predict but
| little with anything like accuracy.
in my opinion the greatest cause for
| suffering among the troops during the
! remainder of the hot season will be the
uniformity of temperature which exists
throughout the Islands, and especially
/ around Manila. The effect of such Il
| temnerature as exists there OH the peo-
pie of cold climates is particularly try
ing. At no time i'll the day or night
is the body allowed to become cool, and
the incessant, lmremittimg heat becomes
almost intolerable. This in spite of the
fact that the highest temperature for
any one day will not rise to the height
Of that of the hottest day which New
York Washington, or Chicago Will
| probably experience during the present
summer. In fact it is not likely that on
the hottest day at Manila the thermo-
meter will go above 81 degrees. But
then it is not likely during the next five
months to fall below II degrees. That
| is. the nights at Manila will have Il
temperature as high as the average
August midday IN Boston and Chi
cago.
1.-THE rainy season is just about be-
| ginning in earnest at the present time.
The dry season at Manila extends from
| December to and including April Dur
ing those five months the total rainfall
rarely exceeds five or six inches. May
and November may be said TO conSti-
| stitute the rainy season, with an aver
| age rainfall of four and a half inches
| each. The rainy season proper begins
with June and extends to October. Dur
ing that time an average OF siXty-onc
inches of rain falls. This equals the
fall in New Orleans for twelve months,
L
in the same period of time.
IF the ordinary average is kept UP
the rain will fall every other day
throughout the present month. june,
July and August. September will aver
ace more than two days with rain to
one without.
.WhiIe the figures that | quote are
those taken as an average or seventeen
years observation at Manila, an exami-
| nation of the records for those years
VIII show some remarkable departures.
For example, in one year. as much as
100 inches of rain has fallen; in another
as little as 1850. Still more remark
able was the fall of 81 .43 inches in one
September, and that of only = inches III
another September. Thus it is scarcely
safe to venture predictions as to the
amount of rainfall and the probable i'm
pediment it will offer to a prosecution
of the campaign during the present sea-
son. Regarding the temperature, how
ever. we know something more definite.
..Ihe lowest temperature ever expert
Fenced at Manila was 60 degrees. The
| average Temperature for January is ~
degrees. while THAT at Manila through
out the whole year is so degrees. The
mean monthly temperature for the
month Of May is 81 degrees while Tor
| the warmest May in seventeen years
the mean temperature reached 81 de-
| crees. gain, the average tenipera-
ture. day and night, for the coldest
| month ever experienced i'll the lslands
was only "A degrees, thus making
a difference of only Is degrees. Con-
trast this with with the weather at
| Washington, where the average, taken
in the same manner, for the contest anu
hottest months of the year, was 20 ana
81 degrees, respectively, giving range
of J6 degrees On the whole, however
our men may be said to stand the eli
mate of tlese tropical islands wlth much
less loss of life than might have been
| anticipated"