Rainy School Days in the Philippines- A Filipino Student's View

Being an island nation in the tropics, the Philippines and the Filipino people are fortunate enough to be  given only two seasons to deal with throughout the whole year.
The rainy season sucks most especially for commuting students.Yes, we do know that the rain is a divine blessing sent from God himself that nourishes the Earth and replenishes the depleted resources the wild scorching heat of the dry seasons cause. But, it is the nonetheless an inconvenience for traveling.

Rain or Shine?

The weather today can never be predicted. Let me share a story. Yesterday, I woke up to a beautiful lullaby sung by the soft caressing rain. So here I am getting ready for school feeling all good and refreshed thanks to the rain (I'm a pluviophile) and I decided to bring an umbrella expecting that it would probably rain all day long. So I brought a big umbrella to school. When I got to school the roads were already flooded. (Here in the Philippines, it sure do flood a lot!) Lucky for me I know how to maneuver myself in tight muddy roads without getting inconveniently wet. At 12 noon (Lunch break) the rain had already stopped and the sun was already scorching hot (Wet floor + Hot sun rays = Humid air), An unexpected turn indeed. I go home every lunch break because I live near my school. At home I decided to leave my umbrella because seeing how hot it was already I figured I could leave it because I figured bringing a big umbrella was just pain in the neck. When I got back to school, all seemed well until 4 pm when classes were about to end, the sky turned dark and strong rain poured... Regardless I really wanted to go home so I decided to enjoy the rain soaking everything in my school bag and ending up with me getting a bad cold.

Why, Oh Why???

As we all know climate change is ultimately changing our world as we know it. When I was younger the dry seasons were just that, dry. The rainy seasons were, well, wet. But now things are taking a different turn, the national meteorologic agency of the Philippines (PAGASA) has officially announced 

that the rainy season has officially begun but it's not to be a shocking matter when you experience scorching hot days and ankle-deep flooding at the same time. It is not hidden that climate change is greatly affecting our daily lives and is becoming more serious as time goes by.

Typhoons and the Government

In Manila, as I see on news shows, they quickly experience heavy floods when rain starts to pour down. The government doesn't usually cancel classes when it rains but when a Typhoon is present, the government issues a cancellation to prevent accidents from the strong winds and strong down pour. Anywhere in the country that is under a storm surge signal (Signal No. 1-4 depending on the strength of prevailing winds) will immediately issue cancellations in classes.

What we can do

To everyone who is reading this, you can help prevent serious damage to the environment caused by climate change through small acts. Throw garbage properly, plant trees. Anything from small to big will make a difference. Just try because as we all know, one spark can start a fire. Peace.