OFFICIAL PORTAL
PRIME MINISTER'S DEPARTMENT
NATIONAL DISASTER MANAGEMENT AGENCY
PRIME MINISTER'S DEPARTMENT
NATIONAL DISASTER MANAGEMENT AGENCY
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians should brace for prolonged droughts, extreme heat, water shortages, forest fires and severe haze from this month as the country edges towards a "Super El Nino", climatologists said.
Experts warned that while El Nino is expected to bring hotter and drier conditions, global warming is also contributing to sudden and destructive flash floods.
They said urban flooding is being worsened by overdevelopment and inadequate drainage systems, urging authorities to harness artificial intelligence (AI)-based forecasting and adopt "sponge city" concepts to better absorb heavy rainfall and reduce extreme heat.
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia's Professor Emeritus Dr Fredolin Tangang said the extreme climate phenomenon would affect Malaysia until April or May next year, intensifying the recent swings between heatwaves and flash floods.
"We are on the verge of an extreme El Nino. It is imminent, it is huge and we will feel its impacts," he said.
He said research showed storm intensity in Kuala Lumpur had increased steadily over the past three decades.
To mitigate escalating climate risks, he said integrating AI into the Malaysian Meteorological Department's existing systems could improve forecasting accuracy and provide earlier warnings of flash floods.
"MetMalaysia already has a system in place to predict thunderstorms and the likelihood of flash floods in Kuala Lumpur.
"Research must continue. The authorities should explore how AI can improve forecasts for these events and extend warning lead times," he told the New Straits Times.
He also called on local councils to urgently embrace smarter urban planning.
"Since city design heavily influences flash floods, local councils must build sustainably. They have to incorporate long-term climate projections into development planning to build truly flood-resilient neighbuorhoods."
ERRATIC WEATHER FROM JANUARY TO MAY
Between January and May, monsoon rains and violent inter-monsoon thunderstorms triggered widespread flooding, landslides, fallen trees and large-scale displacement across Malaysia.
The first major episode occurred from Jan 8 to 12, when severe flooding struck Sabah, Sarawak and Selangor.
This was followed by torrential rain from Feb 21 to 27 that affected 146 villages in East Malaysia.
From March 9 to 13, persistent rainfall displaced more than 1,650 people in Sabah and Sarawak.
Recurring afternoon storms on April 20 and May 6 submerged parts of Kuala Lumpur and the Klang Valley, including Petaling Jaya, Ampang and Shah Alam, as well as major routes such as Jalan Kuchai Lama, the Bukit Jalil Light Rail Transit station and the Kesas Highway.
On May 8, flash floods and uprooted trees were reported across the Klang Valley, including in Ampang, Sungai Besi, Shah Alam, Petaling Jaya and Gombak.
According to the Irrigation and Drainage Department, convective rainfall exceeding 60mm over a two- to four-hour period may trigger flash floods. Monsoon rain, however, typically lasts longer and can occasionally exceed several hundred millimetres within 24 hours.
Rainfall intensity is classified as light (1-10mm), moderate (11-30mm), heavy (31-60mm) and very heavy (more than 60mm) within a one-hour period.
SUPER EL NINO
Fredolin said Malaysia was on the verge of an extreme El Nino, commonly referred to as a "Super El Nino".
"It is imminent, it is massive and we will be impacted from June until April or May next year.
"Consequently, the likelihood of droughts, hotter conditions, forest fires, local and transboundary haze episodes, water crises and health and food insecurity will increase significantly."
He said local councils should make greater use of climate data, prioritise sustainable construction and incorporate future climate projections into urban planning.
Universiti Malaya meteorologist Professor Emeritus Datuk Dr Azizan Abu Samah said rapid development and inadequate drainage, rather than climate change alone, remained the primary causes of chronic flash floods in Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya.
He said the KL-PJ conurbation was built on the Sungai Klang floodplain and was therefore naturally vulnerable to flooding during periods of heavy rainfall.
"The flash flood issue, especially in KL and PJ, is more to do with overdevelopment and drainage. Therefore, drainage systems and water retention measures must be deliberately incorporated into urban planning."
He said Putrajaya's surrounding wetlands demonstrated the effectiveness of "soft engineering" and long-term planning.
"The wetlands play an important role in reducing flash floods in Putrajaya. In contrast, KL is more prone to flash floods because its drainage system was not expanded alongside the increase in concreted surfaces, resulting in much higher surface run-off during downpours."
'SPONGE CITY' CONCEPT
Azizan said councils should adopt the "sponge city" concept by integrating forests, green lungs and water retention areas into development plans.
Given the Klang Valley's dense population and concentration of valuable infrastructure, he said government agencies and local councils must account for extreme weather risks, including torrential rain and intense heatwaves, in future planning.
"Because many cities in the Klang Valley grew organically rather than by design, a stricter and more integrated master plan is now required to introduce green, wetland and forested spaces into the existing concrete jungle.
"Soft engineering solutions, as demonstrated in Putrajaya, prove that predictive planning is far better than reactive planning for extreme weather."
Azizan said studies showed that extreme rainfall events had become more frequent, particularly on the East Coast.
However, he said the West Coast had recorded a declining trend in 99th percentile rainfall.
PREPARE FOR DRY SPELL
He said the recent heavy downpours across the West Coast were well within expectations for the April-May inter-monsoon period.
"The next peak episodes of heavy rainfall are projected during the October-November inter-monsoon period and the early stages of the Northeast Monsoon, lasting until December in Peninsular Malaysia and extending into January and February in East Malaysia."
Azizan said Malaysia must prepare for a prolonged dry spell, with climate models indicating an 82 per cent probability of an El Nino event developing between May and July, rising to 96 per cent from December through February next year.
"Expect a drier-than-normal season for our region, with perhaps 10 to 20 per cent less rainfall from now onwards.
"While this drier climate reduces the risk of major catastrophic flooding during the upcoming Northeast Monsoon, it opens the door to other environmental hazards.
"The drier weather may result in more heatwaves from May to July and when Indonesia's burning season begins from July to September, haze could return."
Flood control, water security in focus as Malaysia and Thailand step up Sungai Golok cooperation
- Admin UKK
- Berita
KOTA BHARU, June 7 — The Thai Cabinet’s approval of the Sungai Golok Basin development project opens up avenues for closer cooperation between Malaysia and Thailand in addressing flood risks, water security and ecosystem restoration in the border areas of both countries.
National Security Council (NSC) Director-General Datuk Raja Nushirwan Zainal Abidin said Malaysia also intends to implement related developments in the area, though the matter is still in the planning stages.
He added that the government will continue to communicate with Thailand to ensure that any development planning involving the Sungai Golok Basin can be coordinated, given that it involves the interests of both nations.
“For that purpose, we will constantly remain in contact with the Thai government because it involves the interests of both countries,” he told reporters after an NSC meeting at the Kota Darulnaim Complex here today.
The Thai Cabinet was previously reported to have approved a joint environmental project with Malaysia aimed at reducing flood risks, enhancing water security and restoring the ecosystem in the Sungai Golok Basin.
The initiative has received US$4 million (RM15.9 million) in funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and will be implemented over a 48-month period with the support of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
The project was jointly developed by Thailand’s Office of National Water Resources and Malaysia’s Department of Irrigation and Drainage to strengthen transboundary water resource management.
According to Raja Nushirwan, the development of the Sungai Golok Basin is not only crucial for flood and environmental management but also carries implications for the well-being of residents and the development of border areas in both countries.
The project also encompasses the development of a shared database, flood and drought risk assessments, as well as the preparation of a joint strategic action plan for the river basin.
Meanwhile, he added that the government is also ironing out the details of economic initiatives to assist communities affected by the demolition of 91 illegal jetties along Sungai Golok, including those in Rantau Panjang and Tumpat.
He said the initiative is still in the detailing phase and will be implemented once coordination between the federal and state governments is finalised. — Bernama
Gempa bumi sederhana landa Bhutan
- Admin UKK
- Berita
PETALING JAYA – Satu gempa bumi sederhana bermagnitud 5.5 dilaporkan berlaku di Bhutan pada pukul 1.36 pagi tadi.
Jabatan Meteorologi (MetMalaysia) berkata, gempa bumi itu berlaku pada kedudukan 27.6 darjah Utara dan 89.8 darjah Timur dengan kedalaman 20 kilometer.
“Gempa bumi tersebut berlaku kira-kira 204 kilometer ke utara Rangpur, Bangladesh,” katanya hari ini.
Bagaimanapun, MetMalaysia memaklumkan kejadian itu tidak membawa sebarang ancaman tsunami kepada Malaysia. – KOSMO! ONLINE
PETALING JAYA – Amaran ribut petir, hujan lebat dan angin kencang melibatkan beberapa negeri di Semenanjung serta Sarawak yang dijangka berterusan sehingga pukul 9 pagi ini.
Jabatan Meteorologi (MetMalaysia) memaklumkan, kawasan yang terlibat di Semenanjung meliputi Perlis, Kedah dan Pulau Pinang.
Menurutnya, amaran sama turut melibatkan beberapa daerah di Perak iaitu Kerian, Larut, Matang dan Selama, Hulu Perak, Kuala Kangsar, Manjung, Perak Tengah, Bagan Datuk serta Hilir Perak.
“Cuaca buruk turut dijangka berlaku di Sabak Bernam, Selangor.
“Di Sarawak pula, kawasan yang terlibat ialah Sri Aman, Sibu, Mukah (Matu, Dalat dan Mukah), Kapit (Song, Kapit dan Bukit Mabong) serta Bintulu,” katanya hari ini. – KOSMO! ONLINE
‘If there is no rain, we will die’: Fears of hunger overwhelm Guatemalan village as El Nino approaches
- Admin UKK
- Berita
CUNEN, June 2 — While drought expands through Cunen as the specter of El Nino climate instability approaches, one fear has seized this indigenous Guatemalan village: death by hunger.
The rains still haven’t come here, where local farmers fear the lack of water could ruin the subsistence crops they need to survive.
“If there isn’t rain, (the crops) won’t come...If there isn’t anything we’re going to die of hunger,” Cecilia Pasa Sarat, a 38-year-old woman who has planted a small amount of corn, told AFP in Xetzac, a village in Cunen.
Cunen is a hard-to-reach mountainous region where the majority of the approximately 47,000 residents are poor, and rely on water from wells that are now going dry.
This village in the Indigenous Maya department of Quiche lays in the heart of the Dry Corridor, an arid mountainous stretch running through Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua that’s become vulnerable to extreme climatic events.
Quiche was one of Guatemala’s most hard-hit regions during the El Nino related food crisis in 2023. Some worry the crisis could return due to a lack of government support.
The phenomenon now fueling local residents’ hunger fears occurs every two to six years as part of a natural climatic cycle that affects the surface temperatures on the Pacific Ocean.
It’s expected to start between June and August, creating monthslong planetary ripple effects.
‘Prolonged damage’
Weeks of drought have dessicated the dusty streets of Xetzac, where the creeks that usually irrigate the town’s patchwork of corn, potato, broccoli and bean fields are evaporating under the brutal sun.
Taking refuge in the tree shade where the resin-scent of pines drifts down the hillside, Elvira Pasa says the eventual loss of the village harvests will only end in “hunger.”
“We farm, we don’t sell it, we just eat it,” the 27-year-old community leader and mother of a two and seven-year-old son told AFP.
“Whatever we plant is what we eat. What will happen if it doesn’t rain?” 43-year-old Lucia Rojop asks herself.
Her fears are well-founded: around 2.5 million Guatemalans face potential food insecurity due to the drought and the high probability of a powerful El Nino weather cycle.
The Guatemalan government says it has 1.1 million rations ready to distribute in the face of an emergency.
According to experts, the chance that El Nino could spiral into a more dangerous event depends on numerous atmospheric factors.
Governments across the dry countries of Central America raised alert levels over the El Niño phenomenon. But El Nino isn’t the only reason the situation is worsening.
Just in Guatemala, the “dry corridor” expanded from 40 to 160 municipalities since 2004, meaning almost half of the country has been subjected to climate change-fueled drought, according to the government.
El Nino has reduced by half, according to Alex Guerra, the director of the Private Institute for Investigation on Climate Change (ICC).
Cecilia Pasa walks through a puny corn farm, a clear testimony of the drought. “The plants can’t take it anymore, the ground is drier, it’s not humid anymore like it used to be,” she says categorically.
It means that only half of her neighbors planted corn this year. Everyone else, including Catarina Sica, didn’t even bother.
“There isn’t rain, and the time has passed for us to plant,” Sica says while showing the black, white, and yellow seeds still on the cob of corn.
‘Migratory impact’
The brutal challenges of working the fields in Cunen, for years, were eased with remittances migrants sent home from the US. Yet Donald Trump’s mass deportations have taken away that support.
Around 24,000 Guatemalans have been deported this year, many from Quiche.
The deportations have paralyzed the construction of homes - the great dream of many migrants - as well as the jobs that go with it.
Families now deal with the crisis by raising pigs, sheep, chickens and turkeys for sale.
Sica’s husband returned two years ago after saving enough money to build a concrete house. Now he works occasionally in agriculture, though the US$10 daily wage he earns means the family diet is limited to beans, herbs and potatoes, like most locals.
“We’re seeing what to do, but it all depends on God,” the woman says with resignation. — AFP