PETALING JAYA: The state of Perlis and Kota Setar in Kedah are the latest to be placed under a Level 2 (orange) heatwave alert by the Malaysian Meteorological Department.
This raises the total number of areas issued the heatwave alert to five after Baling, Pendang and Pokok Sena in Kedah.
The Level 2 alert is issued when temperatures range from 37°C to 40°C for at least three consecutive days.
As at 4pm on Thursday (March 26), 21 areas nationwide were issued a heatwave alert.
In Kedah, Level 1 (yellow) alerts were issued for Sik, Padang Terap, Kubang Pasu, Pulau Langkawi, Kuala Muda, Kulim and Bandar Baharu.
Level 1 alerts are issued when temperatures range from 35°C to 37°C for at least three consecutive days.
In Penang, Level 1 alerts were again issued for Daerah Utara and Timur Laut, with the same recorded for Selama, Kuala Kangsar, Kinta, Perak Tengah and Hulu Perak in Perak; as well as Jerantut in Pahang and Segamat in Johor
The alert was meanwhile no longer issued for Pasir Mas in Kelantan despite it being recorded during an earlier update on Thursday.
