Global warming is something that is undeniable, especially for me given that I live in the Philippines. You have probably heard about the catastrophic changes that have occurred in our country, and the alarming thing is that the changes are increasing by the day. I look back at what our country was a decade ago, and I shake my head in disbelief, unsure of where we are headed and worried about the future of my children. I sit my children down every once in a while and tell them of a time when there was a clear line between the dry seasons and the wet ones. We always knew that from January to June, we would experience hot weather. These were the months where we wore vests and shorts and headed for strolls in the parks and beaches where we flew kites, basked in the sun and held barbecues. Everyone itches for good weather and from January up to June, we were in bliss. Then came the wet months which were favorites for the farmers who could till their fields and look forward to drying and selling their harvest when January came.

Boy looking in the junkyard for food

The cycle was known, and we planned our lives accordingly. Unfortunately, this schedule got interrupted by global warming. Nowadays, the temperatures are very high, bordering on feverish. Though they help the flowers bloom, temperatures at a range of thirty-nine degrees Celsius are quite uncomfortable. I do not feel comfortable letting my children play in the sun for long hours anymore as I am worried they could get sunburns or even worse, a heatstroke. The hot months are nothing compared to what happens when the wet months get here. We never know what to expect any more ranging from typhoons to windy days. Sometimes, classes get suspended, and my kids stay home as schools are worried that they could come to harm while in the facilities. Whatever happened to light showers where kids could play with the puddles and dance in the rain? We no longer get heavy rain throughout the wet months. Instead, it rains between August and November. As from December, the weather gets cold up to February when the dry months begin to show. But this is not to say that we have a given schedule. Today could be hot, and on getting up tomorrow, you find that there are massive showers of rain. Traditionally, the Lenten Season has always had the hottest days of the year. Recently, we experienced heavy rain during this Holy Week, a clear indication of climate change. We have also seen such changes during Christmas time. Where we used to look forward to crisp weather during Christmas, we are now experiencing scorching temperatures in the days leading up to Christmas.

Hot mornings followed by really heavy downpour are becoming a norm, and this is worrying especially to travelers as well as the fashion conscious people. There are many discussions on the cause of global warming and what can be done to limit its effects. My children learn about it at school, and I am helping them make changes in their lives to reduce their impact on global warming. I would love for the future generations to have a similar experience to mine where they could plan out their lives knowing what kind of 'weather' they would be facing the next day, week, month or year. Besides the changes that the government has made in a bid to make the country more habitable, we need to come up with measures. Unplugging of electrical devices which are not in use as well as the adoption of renewable energy sources are a great way to start. I also walk often to reduce the emission of exhaust fumes, and I plant a tree now and then. Whatever you can do to protect the environment will go a long way in helping our children live to see a rainy day unaccompanied by hazardous flooding.

We heard about the efforts of CAP and we hope that things will change for the better. However we are pessimistic for that to happen.