A woman walks past debris in Barangay Pagbangkeruan, Alcala, Cagayan three days after the onslaught of Typhoon Ompong in September 2018. AC Dimatatac/ICSC/ Handout 

MANILA — If there’s any place in the world that can clearly illustrate just how much impact climate change has had in recent years, look no further. In just a little less than seven decades, the Philippines has, unfortunately, seen various changes in terms of rising temperature, intensity of extreme weather events and sea level rise.

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According to the Oscar M. Lopez Center’s Philippine Climate Change Assessment, from 1951-2018, the Philippines has seen an increasing trend in annual average temperature by 0.16 degrees celsius per decade, totaling to 1.12 degrees celsius in the last sixty seven years. 

While the figure may seem small, studies show that a rise in temperature by over one degree increases the likelihood of more hot days.

Higher temperatures at night have seen a significant trend, especially in urban areas, due to the urban heat island effect. 

Dr. Rodel Lasco, Technical Coordinator of the PCCA, admits that while indications of rainfall is “a bit more ambiguous” as there is no increasing trend, there is still an observed shift towards the country becoming “wetter.” 

And while the number of tropical cyclones entering the Philippine Area of Responsibility does not seem to increase in number, Lasco says damage from these extreme weather events are increasing.

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“Yung cost of damage is increasing. The frequency and intensity, walang pattern, no long-term trend. But the number of Christmas typhoons, amazingly, has significantly increased. It’s becoming more common,” he said. 

A weather specialist of state weather bureau PAGASA explains that tropical cyclones are in fact decreasing by number but their intensity is growing stronger. 

“What we saw is that the total number of tropical cyclones we’re observing are decreasing. But the stronger ones are growing in number,” explains Dr. John Manalo.

 More Filipinos aware of climate change

 A recent survey by the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative (HHI) revealed that most Filipinos have a perceptive understanding of climate change and their risks.

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 Data collected from over 4,600 Filipinos in different parts of the country showed that eight out of 10  believe in climate change while around four of 10 “anticipate that they will be significantly impacted in the next five years.”

 However, the same study points to only a few Filipinos taking actions to address the potential effects of climate change with six of 10 taking no measures. For others, the measures are mostly focused on planting trees (21%), reducing energy consumption (15%), conserving water (15%), insulating (7%), and using renewable energy (7%).

 The more significant steps like livelihood adaptation and relocating from a heavily affected area is also few. 

“Few people have adapted their livelihood or even moved to less affected areas, but these percentages are likely to grow rapidly as people increasingly face the consequences of climate change,” says Dr. Patrick Vinck, director of research of HHI, and also co-lead of this study. 

Climate Change Commision Executive Director Robert Borje says that while they acknowledge the findings of the HHI, it’s also important to understand the country’s context and the strides it has made.

 “Before it was very difficult for our people to understand the importance of preemptive evacuation. I think several decades forward, we’ve seen more willingness from our people to comply,” he said. 

“We understand it's a function of time, but we also do not have the luxury of time. What's important right now is that we have leadership recognizing the intersectionality of the different government agency work.”

 Borje also stressed that the accessibility of information is an important facet of holistic preparedness and resilience to climate change saying that the science must be in the form most appreciated by the public.

 “When you have an appreciation of the risk that is involved, you know the exposure of the people, you know their vulnerabilities, you know their exposure to hazards, the capacity is important to minimize the risk for them.”

 His response comes after the HHI survey pointed to wealthier and more educated Filipinos as being more likely to undertake adaptation actions.

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 Ultimately, government is gearing to cascade its National Adaptation Plan on climate change adaptation. This  “aims to reduce vulnerability to the impacts of climate change by building the adaptive capacity and resilience of the country and facilitating the integration of climate change adaptation into new and existing policies, programs, and government activities.” 

More specifically, it will pave the way towards identifying priority high-risk climate change vulnerable areas in the country, serve as a guide on integrating adaptation considerations and harmonize national strategies and international commitments. 

Putting an end to climate change, at this point, is farfetched as more developed countries continue to contribute to greenhouse gas emission. But making the Philippines, which has been ranked the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, more prepared and resilient to a myriad of risks is possible. 

All it requires is synergy and commitment from all sectors to achieve a common goal which ultimately will benefit the next generation of Filipinos.