Drought uncovers 'lost' 300-year-old city in Philippines
The phenomenon of scorching hot weather in the Philippines has caused a large dam in the country to dry up - to the point where the ruins of a nearly 300-year-old city are exposed.
The city of Pantabangan was sunk in the 1970s for the sake of building a reservoir. In rare extreme circumstances – when the weather is dry and hot – the city rises from the surface of the water.
The re-emergence of Pantabangan City comes as nearly half of the Philippines is being hit by drought – in some areas, temperatures are reaching record highs.
Marlon Paladin, an expert from the government agency that operates the dam, told AFP that since the dam was built, this was the longest time the 'lost' city had been above water.
Extreme heat disrupts the daily lives of millions of Filipinos. Schools were closed for days and office workers were advised to work from home.
Benison Estareja, a meteorologist with the government's Pagasa weather agency, told BBC News that temperatures could still get slightly hotter in the coming days.
"The general impact of climate change on the Philippines is warmer temperatures. The heat we are experiencing now may continue to increase in the coming days," said Estareja.
The Philippines is one of the countries most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. The rainy season can bring monster storms, such as Super Typhoon Haiyan – one of the strongest typhoons in history – in 2013.
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