The hot weather has been a cause of distress to Malaysians in the past few weeks but the Meteorological Department does not expect conditions to be as scorching and dry during the same period last year.

THE obvious “hot” topic of conversation amongst many Malaysians is the sweltering weather over the past month.

Those affected by the heat have resorted to various means and measures to cool themselves down. Some are getting under the showers frequently or hitting the swimming pool more often. There are those who have even resorted to shaving off their hair.

Many Malaysians are also turning to air-conditioners for respite from the heat.

L.K. Tan, managing director of electrical appliance chain Tan Boon Ming Sdn Bhd, says sales of air-conditioning units have doubled from approximately 200 to 400 in the past month. While supply of the units from manufacturers is not an issue, Tan says delays in the installation works have become a problem.

“We simply do not have enough manpower, so our workmen and contractors have to work longer hours, and even on Sundays,” he says.

But exactly how hot has it been? Some have claimed that temperatures have risen to 39°C. Temperatures have indeed been rising all over, but not as high. Records show that Batu Embun in Pahang recording a peak temperature of 36.2°C last week.

A spokesperson from the Meteorological Department says that Malaysia is currently experiencing the South-West Monsoon period.

During this time, the weather is relatively drier and warmer as compared to other periods for most part of the country, he says.

“Last year was a relatively wet year because of the La Nina phenomenon. April, June, July and August 2008 were wet months. September was relatively dry especially over Kelantan and Terengganu while May was the driest month. This year it is considered to be neutral,” says the spokesperson.

The South-West Monsoon is expected to last until September and the rainfall is expected to be normal over Peninsular Malaysia and slightly below normal over East Malaysia (see chart)

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However, the coastal area of west coast states – from southern Perak to western Johor in Peninsular Malaysia – will occasionally experience thunderstorms, heavy rain and strong gusting winds in the pre-dawn and early morning, says the spokesperson.

For most parts of Malaysia, the maximum daily temperatures normally range from 32°C to 35°C, although the temperature would occasionally exceed this range.

Adequate water supply

In 1998, a prolonged drought caused a water shortage in Selangor, resulting in water rationing exercises. This prompted a rush to buy containers and pails at mostly inflated prices.

A government official who is familiar with the water supply system in Malaysia says that a similar shortage could happen if there is a long drought.

“This would have to mean at least six months without a day of rain. Our main source of water is from the rivers, but these water supply systems are too dependent on surface water sources and are at the mercy of the weather,” says the official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

However, the official says that the present situation is not a cause for concern.

“Based on feedback from all state water operators, all dams and rivers providing raw water to treatment plants are normal and have not experienced any reduction in levels.

“As such, water supply services to consumers in all states are not affected,” he says, adding that operators have nevertheless been instructed to monitor the situation closely.

He says that designs of Malaysia’s water supply systems take into consideration the occurrences of dry spells.

“That is the reason why we construct reservoirs as part of the water supply system. The function of this dam is to sustain river water levels at the source point so that we will be able to have enough yield during dry seasons,” he says.

“Of course, if the hot weather persists, our dams will run low. Replenishment will take some time and will only happen during the wet season,” he adds.

To ensure reservoirs can provide enough supply during the dry period, the water released from each dam has to be controlled and co-ordinated carefully, according to operating curve manual.

In relation to this, consumers are advised to use water prudently and to report any burst pipe or leakages to respective state water operators so prompt action can be taken.

“Such action will help us and water operators not to release water from our dam unnecessarily,” says the official.

Crops could be affected

Executive director of Malaysian Crop Life, Chooi Lam Khong says sunshine is the energy source that enhances growth and produces a better yield for crops.

But he says plants undergo the evapotranspiration process in the same way humans sweat.

“When it is hot, the water lost by plants increases and this must be compensated by irrigation,” he says, adding that vegetable farmers usually water their crops during the dry season via irrigation two or three times a day.

Conversely, many of these plantations have transparent rain shelters to prevent physical damage from rain.

Federation of Malaysian Vegetable Growers Associations secretary-general Chay Ee Mong says that growers in Cameron Highlands have not been affected much because of the rain over the past few days.

“Usually, the first three months of the year are dry after the monsoon season, but this year we have seen moderate weather with rain in the first three months,” says Chay.

Chay says rain twice or three times a week would be the best for growing crops.

“If it is not too dry, we can get a better harvest whereas excessive rain affects the harvest. So far, we have had moderate weather,” says Chay, although he says the lowland growers have complained about less rain.

Would prices of vegetables go up if there was continued hot weather?

“It is possible but that would depend on supply and demand,” says Chay.

Plantation crops such as palm oil face more problems because there are usually no irrigation systems in place at the plantations, which might be as huge as 5,000-10,000 hectares, says Chooi.

IOI Corp Bhd executive chairman Tan Sri Lee Shin Cheng told Reuters recently that palm oil yields will fall by 5% due to the hot spell and that may push prices to RM3,000 in the near term if there was an increase in overseas demand.

Lee said that planters struggled to boost output last month and may continue to do so as oil palm also suffered biological stress after last year’s strong harvests and low fertiliser use.

“Weather will be a crucial factor. Already people are talking about a possible El Nino. The market will be very explosive if poor weather sets in during the second half of 2009,’’ Lee was quoted as saying.

Similarly, Chooi says that rubber trees undergo a “wintering period” under extreme dry conditions where leaves turn yellow and start to drop resulting in low latex output.

Prone to fires

Another noticeable effect is the accompanying haze – much of which results from peat fires. Incidents of peat fires increase during hot weather, but this will not occur if not for human intervention, says Chee Tong Yiew, manager of the Global Environment Centre (GEC).

He explains there are approximately 2.6 million hectares of peat land in Malaysia, and these are made up of vegetative matter.

“Once peat lands are dry, and there is no feed of water into it, the water table drops and there is more exposure.”

He stresses that if peat lands remain undisturbed, it will not catch fire even if the weather is hot.

However, hot weather will create the conditions where small irresponsible acts can lead to fires.

“People sometimes unknowingly commit these acts – fires used for cooking, or when collecting honey, to name a few, which are not properly extinguished.” Chee says that it is the peat fire that is difficult to extinguish because it is mostly underground.

A spokesperson for the Kuala Lumpur Fire Department says that statistics indicate that bush fires have not occurred more frequently although 10 hectares of forest on a hillslope of Jalan Duta-Damansara, near the New Klang Valley Expressway, caught fire last week, enveloping the area with thick smoke.

An operations officer said the sweltering weather might have precipitated the fire, which took four hours to put using two tanks containing more than 10,000 litres of water.

“We have told our stations to be ready for more fires,” says the spokesperson, who advised the public not to conduct open burning.

“We are just wary that without proper supervision, it can go out of hand. Fire tends to spread more during hot and dry weather as it is easy for dry grass to catch fire,” he adds.