Nine Malaysian Regions Prepare For Hot Weather

JAKARTA - The Malaysian Meteorological Department (MET Malaysia) placed nine areas in Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah on a heat alert stage on Tuesday afternoon.

There are eight areas in Peninsular Malaysia and one in Sabah which, according to MET Malaysia, have daily maximum temperatures of 35 to 37 degrees Celsius for at least three consecutive days. The record was updated on Tuesday, May 30, at 16:40 local time.

Pasir Mas, Kuala Krai, Jeratut, Raub, Kuantan, Temerloh, Bentong, and Bera are eight areas on the peninsula that are in the stage of preparing for hot weather. Meanwhile, the area with the same status in Sabah is Kinabatangan.

As reported by ANTARA, the Deputy Director General for Post-Disaster of the Malaysian National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA) Hussin Moh in a discussion session in Selangor said the Southwest Monsoon in Malaysia will take effect from May to September 2023.

This season brings air with humidity which reduces rainfall, causing the weather in Malaysia to be hot.

Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the government was ready to declare a heat emergency status if the weather conditions required it. According to Hussin, all relevant departments have been asked to monitor the situation.

However, he said that until now there had been no announcement of a heat emergency because it was still raining in a number of areas. Hot weather does not occur continuously in one area, there is still rain even though the amount is starting to decrease.

The mass media in Malaysia in recent days have reported predictions of the effect of an El Nino that will occur on the threat of transboundary haze that could occur in the ASEAN region.

The sea surface temperature in the eastern Indian Ocean causes a reduction in water vapor that is carried over to the Southeast Asian region, including Sumatra, Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, when the positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) occurs, thus making rain less and less.