PETALING JAYA: The severity of the heatwave inflicting the country can be summed up by this statistic – there were 648 Level 1 and Level 2 heatwave alerts issued from February to March 28.
A Level 1 heatwave status indicates daily maximum temperatures of between 35°C and 37°C, and Level 2 is between 37°C and 40°C, for three consecutive days.
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Within this February to Thursday period, Pokok Sena in Kedah recorded the highest temperature, at 39.3°C, according to the Meteorological Department of Malaysia (MetMalaysia).
Its director-general Muhammad Helmi Abdullah told The Star that the highest reading was recorded there on March 21.
He said the all-time record still remained with Chuping in Perlis, which recorded a temperature of 40.1°C on April 9, 1998.
On the heatwave alerts, he said Kedah was the state with the most at 311, with a total of 14 Level 2 alerts over the period.
Pokok Sena there had the highest number of Level 2 alerts (11), followed by Kota Setar (two), and Baling, Kubang Pasu, Padang Terap and Sik with one each.
Perlis recorded 28 total heatwave alerts with a Level 2 alert issued 11 times, while Perak recorded 82 cumulative heatwave alerts. Hulu Perak recorded Level 2 heatwave alerts four times over the same period.
A total of 187 cumulative Level 1 heatwave alerts were issued across Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Negri Sembilan, Melaka, Johor, Pahang and Kelantan, with no Level 2 alerts issued.
Sabah recorded 28 total heatwave alerts, with Beaufort recording Level 2 heatwave alerts twice.
In Sarawak, a total of 12 heatwave alerts were issued, with no Level 2 alerts.
Terengganu was the only state that did not record any heatwave alert throughout the period.
As of 4.30pm yesterday, 31 areas across the country had been issued Level 1 heatwave alerts – the entire state of Perlis and parts of Kedah, Perak, Pahang, Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Melaka, Johor, Kelantan, Sabah and Sarawak.
Water storage levels at six dams across Perlis, Kedah, Penang and Johor were also at the warning levels.
They are the Timah Tasoh dam in Perlis; Muda, BS Padang Saga and Malut dams in Kedah; Air Itam dam in Penang; and the Sembrong Barat dam in Johor.
Meanwhile, 31 cumulative cases of heat-related ailments were recorded as of Wednesday, according to the National Disaster Management Agency.
Of that number, nine were heat strokes, 21 were heat exhaustion cases and one involved heat cramps. To date, one death from heat stroke was recorded.
