Extreme heat in Manila
A dense, humid metropolis where heat closes schools and pushes the heat index into danger.
Heat type. Mostly humid heat.
Heat action plan Parts in place, no full plan found
In Metro Manila, Quezon City has set up a city Heat Action Team, named chief heat action officers and opened 32 libraries as cooling centres. Its full heat action plan is still being developed.
Vicious cycles the evidence ties to Manila
| Cycle | Why here | One action that breaks it |
|---|---|---|
| The lost-schooling loop | In April 2024, 5,288 schools in the Philippines moved to remote learning, affecting more than 3.6 million students. | Keep children in school |
| The cooling trap | One of the dense, high-rise city cores where air-conditioner waste heat adds to the night. | Cool by design |
| The farm-debt loop | Rice yields in the Philippines fell about 10% for each 1 °C rise in growing-season night temperature. | Crop insurance and fair credit |
Who heat hits hardest here
- Workers in heat-exposed jobs
- People in informal settlements
Already at work here
- PAGASA, Philippines
- Department of Education, Philippines
Listing does not imply partnership, affiliation or endorsement.
Four questions for Manila’s heat plan
- Is it funded, with a named owner?
- Does it assess who is most vulnerable, and where they live?
- Does it have legal backing, so departments are required to act?
- Does it count indoor and night-time heat, not only daytime highs?
Official warnings: PAGASA heat index · Today’s heat and the week ahead: beattheheat.asia/#city-manila
Sources
- Quezon City Government. quezoncity.gov.ph/qc-beefs-up-action-vs-extreme-heat-designates-chief-heat-action-officers
- UNICEF, 2025. unicef.org/reports/learning-interrupted-global-snapshot-2024
- Cooling Singapore, citing Chow and Roth, 2006. thegpsc.org/sites/gpsc/files/cooling_singapore_-_digital_urban_climate_twin.pdf
- Peng et al., PNAS, 2004. doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0403720101
- Centre for Policy Research, 2023. cprindia.org/briefsreports/how-is-india-adapting-to-heatwaves-an-assessment-of-heat-action-plans-with-insights-for-transformative-climate-action