EDITORIAL | When March Loses Its Warmth

In the Philippines, the month of March is marked as the “Fire Prevention Month”. Temperatures during this season are expected to be scorching hot. This is also the ideal weather to grab that delicious halo-halo, and book adventures in those beautiful white sand beaches to cool off. 

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This year is different, as soon as March kicked off, that usual “summer vibes” that everyone is expecting, had changed. Instead of wearing swimsuits, bikinis, and shorts, people wore jackets, beanies, and scarves due to the unseasonable freezing wind in what should have been the “dry season”. 

Due to this phenomenon, netizens put up their own version of theories across social media platforms, posting their guesses as to why we are still shivering. If we scroll across Facebook and TikTok, notable discussions go like this:

• “Guys be careful! Kaya malamig ngayon hanggang August dahil sa Aphelion Phenomenon. Malayo tayo sa araw kaya maghanda ng mga jacket. Share this to your family para aware ang lahat!” 

• “Nakakatakot na talaga. dati by March, pinapawisan na tayo sa electric fan. Ngayon, naka-off na fan pero nanginginig pa rin. This is climate change in action. Stay safe, everyone!”

On Twitter, now formally known as X, various threads sparked interest, complaints, and users calling out misinformation. Some go like this:

• Main Thread: “I think the transition to summer is laggy. Someone restart the Philippine climate server please.”

• Reply 1: “Enjoy it while it lasts. Once the Easterlies kicked in, we’ll all be complaining about the Meralco Bill.”

• Reply 2: “PAGASA said it’s because of strong high-pressure area over China and pushing the cold air down. It’s not a glitch, it’s just a very persistent monsoon.”

As more and more theories and assumptions arise, we must separate viral myths from reality. Though the question still remains: what really transpired?

The culprit behind the viral cold weather in March is actually the Northeast Monsoon, locally known as Amihan. Normally, the weather shifts in late February–as Amihan makes its exit to make way for the heat of the Pacific. However, this year, according to PAGASA, high-pressure systems over mainland China are acting like a giant fan, pushing cold, dry air down toward the archipelago much later than usual. 

Explicitly, the true impression is not really about the cold winds in the summer season but our collective reaction. Our bodies and daily practices are so attuned to the predictable rhythm of the dry season that even a two-week delay feels like a mishap. 

The Northeast Monsoon may be the real reason for this phenomenon, but ultimately, these timeline changes serve as a reminder that the global climate patterns are worsening–as seasons shift and weathers stir, it is a signal that something should be done. Even if guesses and assumptions lack credibility, the shock that people expressed in different platforms of social media emphasizes a genuine public interest in understanding what’s really happening in our environment.