Weatherman: It’s not as hot as last year

PETALING JAYA: Although Malay­sians are feeling it, this year’s hot spell is still not as bad as 2014, nor will it achieve the record high of 40.1°C seen in 1998.

Malaysian Meteorological Depart­ment (weather and climate) deputy director-general Alui Bahari said Malaysians could expect temperatures of 36°C to 38°C from March until the first week of April.

“The north-east monsoon period will last until early April. Then, we will have more rain, particularly over the west coast states,” said Alui.

The hot weather is also leading Malaysians to take various measures to cool off.

Loo Wen Khai, a manager at Herbs N Food Sdn Bhd, a chain store that sells Chinese traditional medicine, said that purchases of herbs meant to cool the body had increased by 20% recently.

“Many of our customers have been complaining that the heat is making them feel lethargic,” he said

Chang Pei Uiu, a dietician at Eu Yan Sang, said the number of customers had been the same, but warned that herbal teas should only be taken when significant symptoms are noticed.

1Utama advertising and promotions general manager Patrick So said the mall was expecting an influx of people, whether to shop, dine, or just to chill out, in the coming months due to the hot weather.

“During this period, we will lower the temperature of our air conditioning to accommodate the large number of patrons,” he said.

I-Bhd information manager Tang Soke Cheng said that i-City had also experienced an increase in visitors by about 10%.

“Many visitors are attracted to the SnoWalk area as it is an ideal place to chill in hot weather,” she said.