No end yet to hot and dry spell

PETALING JAYA: The current hot and dry weather is not expected to abate any time soon with the next seven days in all states expected to be without rain, according to the Malay­sian Meteorological Depart­ment (MMD).

On its website, the department announced its forecast of fair weather­ nationwide for seven days starting yesterday, with temperatures ranging from 24°C to 35°C.

Selangor and Kuala Lumpur residents experienced some respite from the weather with rain on March 3, thanks to a successful cloud-­seeding exercise.

The department recorded total rainfall of 14.4mm at its Subang meteorological station and 23.8mm at its Petaling Jaya station between March 1 and March 6.

Although the figures seem small compared to the state’s normal average daily rainfall of 40mm, the department stated it was considered “quite a lot compared to other parts of the country in the peninsula”.

It also stated that the Klang Gates dam recorded the highest rainfall amount (13mm) on March 4, a day after cloud seeding. This was followed by Batu dam at 7mm and Sungai Tinggi dam at 6mm.

However, the Sungai Selangor dam, which supplies water to 60% of households in the state, recorded a mere 0.6mm. As of yesterday, water levels at the dam remained at about 43.24%, slightly above the critical zone of 40%.

Cloud seeding appeared to have helped clear hazy conditions as most places in the country recorded good and moderate API (air pollutant index) readings yesterday.