KUALA LUMPUR: As the nation continues to be gripped by the heat, climatologists say the hot and dry spell, especially in the northern states of the peninsula and Sabah, may continue in April.
Attributing this to the present El Nino phenomenon, they said the temperature could potentially be on the high side, with conditions forecast to be back to normal by May after the Hari Raya Aidilfitri period.
Academy of Sciences Malaysia fellow Prof Fredolin Tangang said the El Nino is steadily declining and will transition to the La Nina by the middle of this year.
He said this follows the forecast of the Climate Prediction Centre and APEC Climate Centre in the United States and South Korea respectively.
“However, the El Nino’s impact in April is still dominant. The northern region of the peninsula, and Sabah in particular, will potentially continue to experience drier conditions due to the El Nino effect,” he said when contacted.
He added that the inter-monsoon, which begins on Friday and is expected to last till May, usually sees higher rainfall in April and May along the west coast of the peninsula.
“Thunderstorms may occur in the afternoon and evening. However, this may not be the case for the east coast of the peninsula and Sabah where rainfall in April is the lowest,” he said.
Prof Fredolin pointed out that the mean temperature for April would be similar to that of March.
“The public are advised to tune in to forecasts issued by the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia),” he said.
Institute of Ocean and Earth Sciences senior research fellow Prof Datuk Dr Azizan Abu Samah said the heatwave could be present between now until mid-April based on observational records of previous maximum temperature in the northwest of the peninsula.
He added that the inter-monsoon period also tends to see more rainfall in the west coast of the peninsula, adding that Kuala Lumpur tends to have peak rainfall in April.
“Expect more frequent afternoon or evening thunderstorms,” he said.
The northwest states – Perlis, Kedah, Penang and northern Perak – meanwhile will not experience much rain compared with the southwest states, namely from west Johor to Selangor, said Prof Azizan.
“What is more interesting is that the La Nina is forecast for December. This means that the coming northeast monsoon may bring more rain compared with 2023,” he added.
The entire state of Perlis and Hulu Perak were issued a Level 2 heatwave alert while 41 areas across the peninsula, Sabah and Sarawak were issued Level 1 alerts yesterday (March 26), according to MetMalaysia.
In the peninsula, the Level 1 alerts were issued for parts of Kedah, Pahang, Perak, Melaka, Negri Sembilan, Johor, Kelantan and the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.
Level 2 heatwave status indicates daily maximum temperature of between 37ºC and 40ºC for three consecutive days.
Level 1 indicates daily maximum temperature of between 35ºC and 37ºC.
