EDITORIAL
Code red for humanity
Close to 4,000 schools nationwide were forced to suspend classes as classroom
conditions become unbearable due to extreme heat. The suspension has affected more
than 1.3 million learners.
Central Visayas is not spared with this weather phenomenon as many onsite
classes have been suspended due to heatwave. The Bohol Island State University
(BISU) announced that effective April 8, all face-to-face classes across all campuses will
be suspended until further notice to mitigate the risks associated with the prevailing
weather conditions. It is expected that many local schools will follow as the extremely
hot weather condition will prolong in the coming weeks.
PAGASA classifies temperature ranging from 42ºC to 51ºC as a danger category
as it will potentially cause heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and even heat stroke during
continued exposure. Some areas like Catarman, Northern Samar and Aborlan, Palawan
may reach the danger category. Meanwhile, according an Inquirer.net report, a heat
index of 42ºC may prevail over San Jose, Occidental Mindoro; Puerto Princesa, Palawan;
Masbate City, Masbate and Dumangas, Iloilo.
We do not want to sound an alarmist but we have been forewarned. It is “Code
red for humanity”, said UN Secretary-General António Guterres when the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published part one of its
assessment report sometime in early 2022.
The IPCC report concluded that warming 1.5˚C above pre-industrial levels will be
reached by 2040. Part two of the report made even graver reading. Guterres described
it as an “atlas of human suffering and a damning indictment of failed climate
leadership” saying the world’s biggest polluters are guilty of arson on our only home.
The evidence is hard to ignore: ecosystem collapse, species extinction, deadly
heatwaves and floods disrupted human lives to the point of causing great miseries.
To mitigate this, the IPCC calls for the restoration of degraded ecosystems and
conservation of 30-50% of land, freshwater and ocean habitats. Many other solutions
are suggested.
World leaders have stressed the need to limit global warming to 1.5˚C by the
end of this century since breaching the threshold risks unleashing more severe climate
change impacts.
The science is clear.