The Star 15 may 14;
PETALING JAYA: It will take a while before the effects of El Nino are fully felt and the delay may even be several months, said the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MMD).
“The El Nino lifespan is normally between six and 18 months. If El Nino is going to occur by next month, the significant impact can only be seen at the end of this year or early next year,” said MMD’s deputy director-general Alui Bahari.
The El Nino phenomenon is characterised by a band of unusually warm ocean water temperatures that periodically develops off the Pacific coast of South America that could cause extreme weather changes across the Pacific region such as fluctuating droughts, floods and scrappy crop yields in some regions.
“El Nino is a slow process. It takes a few months before the impact is felt by the country. Generally, Sabah and Sarawak will be affected the most when it comes to El Nino years,” said Alui.
Some of the countermeasures against prolonged drought would be cloud-seeding operations.
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Alui added that further studies had to be conducted before the phenomenon, such as the overly hot Chinese New Year season leading to subsequent water shortages and the recent floods in Kuala Lumpur, could be attributed to climate change.
Department of Environment director-general Datuk Halimah Hassan said her department would be on the lookout for open burning.
“We will step up our enforcement action, with land and aerial surveillance to curb open burning. There’s still a total ban on open burning in Selangor, Malacca, Negri Sembilan, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya since March 2014,” said Halimah, who urged the public to cooperate and not to resort to open burning.
Forum Air Malaysia, an organisation formed to assist the National Water Services Commission (Span), said the Government had to prepare well.
“It must ensure that there will be adequate water supply to all consumers during El Nino,” said manager Foon Weng Lian, who also urged Putrajaya to be more transparent in disseminating information.
Cabinet committee set up as Malaysia braces for El Nino
The Star 15 May 14;
PUTRAJAYA: A special cabinet committee has been set up as the country braces for the El Nino phenomenon from June to September due to the dry Southwest Monsoon, said Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili.
He said the committee would be headed by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin while the secretariat would be hosted by the ministry.
"The special cabinet committee will monitor the devastating impact of the dry spell (brought about by El Nino) from various aspects, including weather changes, health and agriculture.
"The committee will also monitor and implement comprehensive mitigation measures at the national level to brace for the El Nino phenomenon in all economic and social sectors," he said in a statement on Thursday.
Ongkil said the committee would take over the role of the Water Crisis Committee, which was set up by the ministry during the water rationing exercise from January to April.
He said the committee would be made up of representatives from the Health Ministry, the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry, the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry, the Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, the Plantation Industries and Commodities Ministry, the Finance Ministry, and the National Security Council.
Apart from the Malaysian Meteorological Department's forecast, he said the World Meteorology Organisation predicted that the El Nino phenomenon could persist from six to 18 months, and if this were to happen t would worsen the national water supply situation.
Meanwhile, Ongkili urged state governments to take immediate steps to ensure enough raw water supply and protect water sources to avoid inadequate supply of treated water to consumers.
While urging domestic and industrial users to use water prudently, he said industrial users should take steps to reduce the impact of water crisis by using underground water, recycling water, using water-efficient equipments, and increasing the capacity of water storage tanks. - Bernama
