Manila, May 6 -- Forecasting the heat index in every municipality across the country is impossible at the moment due to budget and manpower limitations, an official of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said Monday.

PAGASA Deputy Administrator Marcelino Villafuerte II said putting up stations would require a lot of resources to install instruments, apart from additional manpower.

Villafuerte, who is in charge of heat index forecasts, was asked for his comment on Senator Sherwin Gatchalian's suggestion that PAGASA should come up with more "granular and location-specific heat indices" to help local government units and schools decide if they should cancel face-to-face classes.

"Curre...