Penangites enjoy brief respite from the heat

GEORGE TOWN: A cool pre-dawn breeze blew across Penang giving local folk a great start to the day.

Those driving to work in some parts yesterday got a free car wash from a heavy downpour, a much-needed respite from the hot and humid weather over the past few days.

Malaysian Meteorological Department’s satellite data showed two thick cloud formations in the north and south ends of the Straits of Malacca, giving Johor and Penang welcome precipitation.

But this is only a temporary respite as the hot and dry weather is expected to resume until the inter-monsoon period kicks in next month.

Penang Water Supply Corporation chief executive officer Datuk Jaseni Maidinsa called on Penangites to continue thinking twice before washing cars or watering the lawn for now.

“On Thursday, I issued an alert for Penangites to save water but two days later, it rained heavily. We did not carry out any cloud seeding. But the rain won’t last so everyone needs to save water,” Jaseni said.

He said though the bouts of rain did not fill the state’s dams, at least it helped slow the draw down of the reserves.

Although MetMalaysia has been issuing high temperature warnings just below the heatwave alert level in many parts of Pahang, Kedah and Perlis, it also started to send out thunderstorm warnings since Sunday for Sabah, Sarawak, Johor, Melaka, Negri Sembilan, Selangor, Perak and Penang.