Climate

The country is near the equator and this gives it a tropical climate characterized by relatively high temperatures, high humidity, and abundant rainfalls. The Philippine climate is one is the most helpful in the world, similar in some ways to the climates of the countries in Central America.

The climate of the western and more populated half of the Philippines has three distinct seasons:

(1) the rainy seasons, which extend from June to November;
(2) the cool, dry season from December to February; and
(3) the hot, dry season from March to May.
May is normally the warmest month, while January is the coldest. During the months of January and February, the days are mild and cool with refreshingly chilly evenings. This seasons fall in other months in the eastern half of the country.

There is plenty of sunshine all year round in the Philippines. The distribution of rainfall is affected by the wind system and the topography of each region. The country is occasionally lashed by many a severe typhoon-from the Chinese word tai-fung, great wind'-mostly coming from the Pacific.