Philippines: Sunken old town reappears as dam dries up in record heat

The remains of a city that is almost 300 years old have returned as a main dam in the Philippines were largely dried up by searing temperatures.

Pantabangan village was submerged in the 1970s to create a tank.

However, when the wind is dry and hot, it only occasionally emerges from the ocean.

It comes as almost half the country is experiencing a drought, with temperatures reaching a high of 50C ( 122F ) in some places.

This is the longest the city has ever been above ocean since the dam was constructed, Marlon Paladin, an engineer with the state agency that operates the country’s rivers, told media company AFP.

Millions of people’s daily lives have been impacted by the intense heat, which has forced office workers to work from home. Schools are closed for days.

And it could also get significantly hotter in the forthcoming days, Benison Estareja, a scientist at the state- move weather bureau Pagasa, told BBC News.

Cooler temperatures are the main outcome of climate shift in the Philippines. The steam that we are experiencing, it may gradually increase in the coming time”, Mr Estareja said.

El Nino or the strange heat of the Pacific Ocean’s surface waters are making the Philippines ‘ warm and dry season worse. The mainland nation’s entire east coast faces the Pacific.

One of the most dangerous nations in the world is the South East Asian region because of the effects of climate change. Dragon storms can occur during the wet season, including Super Typhoon Haiyan, one of history’s most powerful winds.

” We are seeing a decrease in the amounts of our dams,” according to Mr. Estareja.

According to official statistics, the water level that has dropped by nearly 50m from its current high of 221m.

According to Mr. Paladin, the wreckage started to appear again in March because the place had been getting virtually no rain. The re- introduction of the wreckage have drawn tourists to the community, some 202km ( 125 miles ) north of the money, Manila.

Aside from the Philippines, Bangladesh has even enforced school suspensions that have affected 33 million individuals.