Weather locations in Philippines

The Philippines is an archipelago of more than 7,000 islands lying just above the equator in the western Pacific, and its climate is tropical with two seasons rather than four. Everything is shaped by the surrounding sea and by two monsoon winds, the amihan from the north-east and the habagat from the south-west, which bring opposite halves of the year to opposite halves of the country.

Main climate types

Under the conventional grouping most of the country is classed as tropical rainforest, though a good deal of it is better described as tropical savanna. The south-west, including Palawan and the Visayas, is the driest, taking its rain mostly from the south-west monsoon between June and September. The eastern side of every island, from Samar and Leyte to the Pacific slopes of Mindanao, is the wettest.

Temperatures

Manila has January means about 28 degrees Celsius and May about 30, the year-round heat held flat by the sea; the coolest nights of the year fall in January. The mountains are cooler, and Baguio, at 1,500 metres, averages about 14 in January and 18 in July. Humidity is high almost everywhere, and the warmest months of the year are usually April and May.

Rainfall

Annual rainfall averages about 2,000 millimetres, but ranges from around 1,000 in the sheltered west to more than 3,000 on the eastern-facing slopes, with the Cordillera taking above 4,000. The rain falls mostly in the monsoon, and the two monsoon systems effectively divide the country along a line running north to south through the archipelago.

When to go

The dry season on the western seaboard runs from November to April, which is the usual choice for travellers. The eastern side is driest from June to September. Typhoons strike between roughly June and November, and the risk is highest in the northern Philippines.