Tough task: Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department members attempting to extinguish a bush fire in Kampung Alor Semadom in Alor Setar, Kedah. — Bernama
PETALING JAYA: As the hot and dry season continues to affect the country, more areas are being issued heatwave warnings, especially for the northern parts of Peninsular Malaysia. Water levels at dams in these areas are also reaching warning levels.
For instance, Pokok Sena in Kedah was issued a Level 2 heatwave warning yesterday, making it the second time that the area has received the alert. The first was on Feb 28.
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On Friday, all of Perlis was issued a Level 2 alert. However, it was reduced to Level 1 status yesterday.
Level 1 warnings were also issued for Kuala Lumpur and parts of Kedah, Perak, Pahang and Selangor as per an advisory by the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) as of 4.30pm yesterday.
In Kedah, the areas alerted to the heatwave were Padang Terap, Sik, Baling, Kuala Muda, Pendang and Kota Setar.
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Hulu Perak, Kuala Kangsar, Kinta and Kampar in Perak were issued Level 1 alerts.
In Pahang, the locations affected were Raub, Temerloh and Bera.
Hulu Selangor in Selangor was also issued a similar Level 1 warning.
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A Level 2 warning is issued whenever temperatures hover between 37 and 40°C over three consecutive days.
A Level 1 alert is issued when temperatures at a particular location are between 35 and 37°C over the same number of days.
Checks on the National Water Commission’s war room site revealed that water levels at dams in Perlis and Kedah were at warning levels.
In Perlis, the Timah Tasoh dam was at 59.72% capacity. In Kedah, the Muda dam was at 47.8% capacity, followed by BS Padang Saga (59.83%) and Malut (45.8%).
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Water levels at the Air Hitam dam in Penang also recorded warning levels, with it only being at 37.7% capacity.
In Johor, the Sembrong Barat dam was only at 35.23% capacity.
According to the drought monitoring report issued by MetMalaysia on March 13, most parts of the country recorded regular Standard Precipitation Index (SPI) readings.
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Chuping in Perlis, Kota Baru in Kelantan, Melaka and Sitiawan in Perak, meanwhile, recorded moderately dry and very dry readings.
“However, no stations recorded rainfall deficits exceeding 35%,” says the report.
“Monitoring will be carried out at a higher frequency so that any drought alerts can be issued as soon as possible.”
It said the Chuping meteorological station in Perlis recorded no rain in February, adding that the dry spell resulted in the highest temperatures in Malaysia for the month at 37.9°C.
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Other parts of Malaysia that recorded temperatures exceeding 36°C were Butterworth in Penang (37.5°C), Alor Setar and Langkawi in Kedah (37.2 and 37°C, respectively), KLIA Sepang and Subang in Selangor (36.4 and 36.1°C, respectively), and Temerloh in Pahang (36.1°C).
Meanwhile, several residents in Perlis said it had been more than a month since it last rained.
“Even when it does, it only lasts between five and 10 minutes. The humidity then makes the situation worse,” said trader known only as Shahrizal.
Nur Shuhada said she now does most of her chores in the living room.
“My two toddlers also sleep here now, as the heat in the room can be unbearable, even at night,” said the housewife.
Malaysia is currently at the tail end of the northeast monsoon, which is expected to end this month.
Hot and dry weather is expected during this period, with minimal rainfall, especially north of the peninsula.
In GEORGE TOWN, the Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP) issued an alert notice after its water production reached maximum capacity yesterday.
“Be informed that PBAPP water production has reached its maximum,” the post on the corporation’s Facebook page read.
“However, due to high water consumption and a reduction in water levels, the pump houses along Sungai Ara, Batu Maung, Teluk Kumbar, and South Seberang Prai will be affected.”
