INTERACTIVE: Kedah gets the brunt of the hot weather

PETALING JAYA: Kedah is the hottest state in Malaysia so far this year. Most or 67% of hot weather alerts are involving areas in the northern state.

A total of 368 high temperature alerts were issued for various districts nationwide by the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) between January and March this year.

Of this total, two-thirds or 245 alerts were for areas in Kedah, also known as Malaysia’s rice bowl due to its large rice production.

Among all districts nationwide, Baling in Kedah received the most number of high temperature alerts after being named 37 times in MetMalaysia's alerts, followed by Pokok Sena (31) and Padang Terap (29), also in the same state.

 

 

Aside from Kedah, other states were also flagged for high temperatures between January and March this year with Perak having the second highest number of alerts at 42, followed by Perlis with 28.

Selangor recorded three alerts while Kuala Lumpur was warned of hot weather once on March 23.

 

On why Kedah had the most hot weather alerts, meteorologist Emeritus Prof Datuk Dr Azizan Abu Samah said it was partly due to a phenomenon known to locals as Musim Timur or Easterlies.

It usually happens in the northern states around February or March at the end of the north east monsoon period.

“Musim Timur is associated with clear skies and breezy easterly winds.

“Areas like Perlis and north Kedah tend to have days of clear sky and no rainfall during this time and maximum daytime temperatures go up because of less cloud cover.

“This is a common weather condition for people in the north during this period.

“Daytime maximum temperatures can reach up to 40°C but at night, it can drop to 24°C,” said Prof Azizan, who is with Universiti Malaya's Institute of Earth and Ocean Sciences.

It was reported that the hot weather phenomenon in the country was expected to persist until the beginning of the Southwest Monsoon in June, due to drier atmospheric conditions and lower rainfall.

Currently, Malaysia is in the monsoon transition phase, beginning from the end of March to May.

During this phase, the west coast and interior areas of Peninsular Malaysia, as well as western Sabah and Sarawak, are expected to receive rain, especially in the afternoon and early evening.

As such, the rain is expected to lower temperatures in Malaysia slightly, MetMalaysia deputy director-general (Operations) Ambun Dindang had said in a report.

According to the MetMalaysia, Level 1 alerts are issued when temperatures range between 35°C and 37°C for at least three consecutive days.

Level 2 alerts are issued when temperatures range between 37°C and 40°C for at least three consecutive days, as explained in the table below:

 

Out of the total 368 high temperature alerts issued as of March 31, most or 329 are for Level 1 (Alert) while 39 are categorised under Level 2 or heatwave.

The Pokok Sena district in Kedah was named in most of the Level 2 alerts.

 

So far this year, the hot weather in Malaysia appeared to peak on March 25, when a total of 40 alerts were sent out by MetMalaysia - the biggest number within a day.