Memorandum for the Petitioners | 74
8.3.
Further, Ms. De Guzman explained that “with regard to trends in
extreme daily rainfall, majority of the weather stations all over the Philippines
showed [an] increasing trend in the number of days with extreme rainfall
events. Rainfall trends in some synoptic weather stations show a significant
increase in both intensity and frequency, particularly in the cities of Laoag,
Infanta, Tacloban, Iloilo, and Cotabato.”>%7
8.4.
The following observations relating to the state of the Philippine
climate were reported by PAGASA, as follows:
Observed
daily precipitation and near surface air
temperature data from 34 synoptic weather stations in the
Philippines for the period 1951-2010 were subjected to
trend analysis which revealed an overall warming tendency
compared to the normal mean values for the period 1961—
1990. This warming trend can be observed in the annual
mean temperatures, daily minimum mean temperatures and
to a lesser extent, daily maximum mean temperatures.
Precipitation and temperature extremes for the period
1951-2010 were also analyzed relative to the mean 19611990 baseline values.
Some
stations (Cotabato,
Iloilo,
Laoag and Tacloban,) show increases in both frequency and
intensity of extreme daily rainfall events which are
significant at the 95% level with none of the stations
showing decreasing trends. The frequency of daily
temperature maximum above the 99th percentile (hot days)
and nights at the Ist percentile (cold nights) suggests that
both days and nights in particular are becoming warmer.
Such indicators of a warming trend and increase in extreme
events in the Philippines are discussed in the context of
similar national, regional (Asia Pacific) and global studies.
The relevance of such empirically based climatology
studies, particularly for nations such as the Philippines
which are increasingly vulnerable to the multiple impacts
of global climate change, is also considered.3°8
Impacts
of
Philippines
A.
8.5.
climate
Warming
Acidification
change
in
Oceans
and
the
Ocean
According to the IPCC, “[t]he ocean plays a central role in the
Earth’s climate.”°°? Around the world, 850 million people live within 100 km
597 Id; Extreme rainfall intensity is the mean intensity of events greater than or equal to the 99" percentile
each year, while extreme rainfall frequency is the mean frequency of events greater than or equal to the 99"
percentile each year. See also Cinco et al., supra note 305 at Table 3, p. 24.
38 Cinco et al., supra note 305, p. 1 (Abstract).
3° Hoegh-Guldberg, O., ef al., (2014), The Ocean. In: Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and
Vulnerability. Part B: Regional Aspects. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report
of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United
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