Malaysia: Hot weather a normal phenomenon - MET dept

Bernama New Straits Times 4 Mar 19;

KUALA LUMPUR: The public has been urged not to be overly concerned about the hot and dry weather as it is a normal phenomenon that occurs every year, said Meteorological deputy director-general (Operation), Jailan Simon.

However, he advised the public to drink a lot of water and reduce outdoor activities to avoid being exposed to heat strokes and other health problems.

Jalian said the hot weather, which occurred between February and mid-April, was the end of the northeast monsoon that caused low rainfall.

“At this time the sun is hot, with it approaching the equator. We experience this situation every year, but we do not have to be overly worried as we do not expect to have extreme hot weather.

“However, the weather will not be as hot by the end of April. This is because we have a monsoon transition period going into the end of March and the hot weather will decline by the end of April,” he told Bernama News Channel (BNC) here.

He said although temperatures were expected to rise by 0.5 to 1 degree Celsius compared to usual conditions, it was still considered normal and did not reach the extreme temperature like during the El Nino in 2016.

Jailan said several states in the northern part, namely Perlis, Kedah and the northern part of Perak,recorded temperatures of up to 37 degrees Celsius, which was in the yellow level or “alert” category.

He said the El Nino phenomenon, expected in May, will be somewhat weaker and will have no significant impact on the country’s weather.

The department regularly monitors the daily temperature and shares information with the Disaster Management Agency and other agencies such as the health and education departments for appropriate action.

Jailan said that concerns during the hot weather were over water levels in the dams which drop because of the lower rainfall, like in Johor and Sabah, with the possibility of both states facing a water crisis.

Meanwhile, Jailan said the cloud seeding method to produce rain would be the last resort should the water crisis continue, adding the method, however, did not guarantee there would be rain.

Besides the high cost involved, cloud seeding has to be carried out in suitable weather conditions, he added.-- Bernama