Draft action plan to fight El Nino now, say experts

PETALING JAYA: An action plan to deal with the effects of El Nino must be drafted now as weather experts warn that the country’s current heatwave is only a precursor to drier and hotter conditions to come.

The warning comes following the end of three years of cooler and wetter La Nina weather, with El Nino having a 60% chance of making a comeback by the end of this year.

Climate expert Prof Datuk Dr Azizan Abu Samah said the government must draft an action plan to deal with the coming El Nino, particularly on transboundary haze, water and food security.

“Land clearing by fire for agriculture and oil palm was delayed, especially in Indonesia, over the last two years due to the wetter La Nina conditions.

“They will be clearing the backlog once conditions get drier due to El Nino, resulting in transboundary haze returning,” he said yesterday.

El Nino and La Nina are weather phenomena dictated by the flow of warm and cool oceanic currents circulating the planet.

El Nino causes sea temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean to rise, bringing hot and dry weather to Malaysia.

During the El Nino in 1998 and 2016, parts of Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore were blanketed by thick haze due to hundreds of peat soil fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan.

The world’s hottest year on record was 2016, which coincided with a strong El Nino.

Several districts in Malaysia, especially in Kelantan, are currently experiencing the first warning for a heatwave, which sees a maximum daily temperature of between 35ºC and 37ºC for at least three days in a row.

Prof Azizan said preparations must be made in anticipation of water shortages and higher grain prices.

“There will be less rainfall by next February, and we need to be more cautious if El Nino matures at full strength.

“It will not only impact us but also crop-growing nations in the region, which we rely on for rice and grain imports.

“We need to plan ahead to ensure ample stock to avoid the rising cost of these items,” he said.

The previous El Nino, Prof Azizan pointed out, affected rice production in Kedah, where farmers only managed to sow their padi fields once instead of twice a year.

He cautioned that a strong El Nino could result in coral bleaching off the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah.

Academy of Sciences fellow Dr Fredolin Tangang said Indonesian authorities sounded the alarm bells about two months ago over the possible return of El Nino and its impact.

“We are still silent here on El Nino. My advice is for the authorities and the public to take the possible impacts of El Nino in critical sectors in the country seriously.

“Take the necessary steps to minimise the impacts and increase our resilience,” he said, adding that there were past records that could help in making the necessary preparations.

Besides haze, he said water levels at dams could also drop drastically, resulting in water rationing next year in several states.

Senior lecturer at Universiti Malaya’s Geography Department Dr Sheeba Chenoli urged the Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Ministry to closely monitor the status of El Nino and provide timely updates on potential heatwaves and hazy conditions.

“This information can help individuals take appropriate precautions to protect their health.

“If there is an El Nino, information should be distributed on the health risks associated with heatwaves and haze, including symptoms of heat stroke and air pollution,” she said.

Former Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said a special multidisciplinary committee should have been set up by now to prepare for El Nino.

“We cannot stop El Nino from happening, but we can stop human activities such as open burning,” he said.