Manila, March 8 -- The province and city of Iloilo are gearing up for hazardous heat index in the coming days.

Mayor Jerry Trenas said upon the recommendation of the operations center (OPCEN), the threshold that merits the suspension of face-to-face classes is lowered to 40 degrees Celsius from the previous 42 degrees.

He said schools can call off classes or shift to other modes of learning.

"Effective next week, starting Monday. I approved the recommendation of the operation center. By Monday, we will release the executive order," the mayor said in an interview on Saturday.

This city's forecast heat index this weekend is 40 degrees.

The OPCEN, in its report on March 3, monitored the rising temperature in the first two months of 202...