Hot, sticky and wet
Heat and rain due to tropical cyclone over Pacific
The Klang Valley and most of the peninsula are unbearably hot while in Kota Kinabalu, it’s flooding badly and Typhoon Lan is to blame.
It has been hot and sticky! The sweltering heat over the past week in the Klang Valley has got everyone riled up.
After enjoying a period of rather cool temperatures and almost daily rainfall, conditions suddenly became unbearable with the heat
40°C. feeling like close to
“I checked my accuweather app on my mobile phone and it showed 39°C.
It really felt so,” said a golfer, who wished to be known as Adrian.
The Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) however said officially, the highest temperature recorded in the Klang
36°C. Valley during the period was
It said the current dry and hot weather in most parts of Peninsular Malaysia was an indirect effect of Typhoon Lan, a powerful tropical cyclone over the Pacific Ocean.
“Typhoon Lan did not hit Malaysia but pushed moist air from the peninsula to Sabah and Sarawak.
“The presence of Typhoon Lan near the Philippines last week caused moisture in the air over our country to be focused towards the typhoon area. This in turn caused the hot and dry weather in the peninsula,” MetMalaysia said in a statement in reply to queries from The Star.
The department noted that this was still lower than the all-time 40.1° C recorded high of in Chuping, Perlis, on April 9, 1998.
The department said most states in west Peninsular Malaysia also experienced hot and dry weather due to Typhoon Lan.
The department said that while the weather in Peninsular Malaysia got more uncomfortable, Sabah and western Sarawak turned wetter with wind gusts caused by the typhoon heading there.
Strong winds and downpours led to flash floods in Miri last Friday, while several areas in Sabah were flooded on Saturday with Belud district the worst affected.
Dr Fredolin Tangang, a professor of Climatology and Oceanography at UKM, said with Typhoon Lan making landfall in Shizuoka southwest of Tokyo yesterday, its indirect effect on Malaysia’s weather expected to subside.
However, he said it could take some time for moisture to build up again over the peninsula sufficiently to bring back the late afternoon thunderstorms in the Klang Valley and cooler temperatures.
“For Sabah and Sarawak, the moisture carried over there by the typhoon will linger for several days, which means both states will con- tinue to get heavy rain,” said Prof Fredolin.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam advised the public to take precautions against heatstroke.
He said outdoor activities must be minimised under the present conditions.
“Drink a lot of water, and if there any health issue, seek immediate medical treatment,” he told reporters in Ulu Kinta, Perak, yesterday.