UN agency warns El Nino likely by August, raising risk of heatwaves, droughts and extreme weather
- Admin UKK
- Berita
GENEVA, June 2 β There is an 80-per cent chance of the warming El Nino phenomenon developing between June and August, increasing the risk of extreme weather events, the World Meteorological Organization said today.Β
βFuelled by unusually warm ocean waters in the tropical Pacific, El Nino conditions are developing and are set to influence global temperature and rainfall patterns,β the United Nationsβ weather and climate agency (WMO) said.
Forecasts from the WMO global network βindicate a pronounced shift toward El Nino conditions, with probabilities reaching 80 percent for June-Augustβ, the Geneva-based organisation said.
El Nino is a natural climate phenomenon that warms surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, bringing worldwide changes in winds, pressure and rainfall patterns.
It typically takes place every two to seven years and lasts around nine to 12 months.
Conditions oscillate between El Nino and its opposite La Nina, with neutral conditions in between.
The likelihood of El Nino developing by November is βnear or above 90 percentβ, and most forecast models suggest it will be βat least moderateβand possibly strongβ, the WMO said in its quarterly El Nino/La Nina update.
WMO chief Celeste Saulo said the world therefore needed to get ready for an El Nino which could βexacerbate drought and heavy rainfall and increase the risk of heatwaves both on land and in the oceanβ.
The WMO says that even a moderate El Nino makes some weather and climate extremes more likely.
The last El Nino contributed to making 2023 the second-hottest year on record and 2024 the all-time high at around 1.55C above the 1850-1900 pre-industrial average.
Urgent climate warningΒ
In late April to mid-May, the sea-surface temperature in the central-eastern Equatorial Pacificβthe area used as a monitoring referenceβwas approaching El Nino thresholds, the WMO said, with sub-surface temperatures more than 6C above average.
Meanwhile, the Southern Oscillation Indexβthe atmospheric component of El Ninoβis also consistent with El Nino conditions developing.
The WMO said there was no evidence that climate change increases the frequency or intensity of El Nino events.
However, it can amplify the associated impacts, it says, because a warmer ocean and atmosphere increase the availability of energy and moisture for extreme weather events, such as heatwaves and heavy rainfall.
βEl Nino is arriving on our doorstep,β UN chief Antonio Guterres said in a video message.
βThe world must treat it as the urgent climate warning it is. El Nino conditions will pour fuel on the fire of a warming world. Impacts will hit even harder, travel even farther, and cross borders with devastating speed.
βThe only effective response is climate action equal to the crisisβending the addiction to fossil fuels, accelerating the shift to renewables, protecting the most vulnerable, and delivering early warning systems for all.β
Temperatures above normalΒ
The WMO said that for June to August, forecasts project βa nearly universal dominance of above normal temperatures in nearly all parts of the globeβ.
This increases the risk of compounding hazards in some regions, and accelerating the onset of drought conditions where rainfall is reduced, it said.
Regional climate centres are predicting βbelow-normalβ rainfall during the critical June-September rainy season in the northern Greater Horn of Africa; below-average monsoon rainfall in south Asia; and drier and warmer summer conditions in central America.
During the northern hemisphere summer, warm waters associated with El Nino can fuel hurricanes in the central and eastern Pacific, while hindering their development in the Atlantic Ocean.
The WMO hopes advance warning will guide preparedness, especially in climate-sensitive sectors like agriculture, water management, energy and health. β AFP
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Minor quake hits Sabah
- Admin UKK
- Berita
The meteorological department (MetMalaysia) said the tremor was recorded at 10.36am at a depth of 10km, about 15km northwest of Ranau.
MetMalaysia said tremors may have been felt in several areas of Sabah, adding that the department had been monitoring the situation.
The last quake in the area occurred on April 21, measuring 3.4 on the Richter scale.
JOHOR BAHRU: Jabatan Bomba dan Penyelamat Malaysia (JBPM) Johor sudah memadam kebakaran kawasan 0.8 daripada keseluruhan 2.4 hektar tanah gambut yang terjejas di TD Farm Tanah, Kampung Paya Kopi, Pagoh di sini, setakat semalam.
Jurucakapnya berkata, kawasan seluas 1.6 hektar bagaimanapun masih terbakar.Β Katanya, operasi pemadaman semalam dijalankan tujuh anggota serta dua utiliti.
Menurutnya, ketua operasi turut mengarah anggota menjalankan operasi pemadaman menggunakan sumber air terbuka dengan satu unit pam mudah alih.
"Kebakaran masih aktif di kawasan seluas 1.6 hektar.
"Operasi ditangguhkan pada jam 7 malam (tadi) dan anggota serta jentera kembali ke Balai Bomba dan Penyelamat (BBP) Pagoh," katanya dalam satu kenyataan media.
Sebelum ini, JBPM menerima panggilan kecemasan pada jam 11.49 pagi 29 Mei lalu berhubung kebakaran kawasan tanah gambut itu sebelum operasi pemadaman dilancarkan.
Pada Ahad lalu, kebakaran merebak meliputi kawasan 2.4 hektar, dengan pasukan bomba terus bertungkus lumus menjalankan operasi pemadaman.
Kabinet Thailand lulus projek bersama Malaysia kurangkan risiko banjir di Lembangan Sungai Golok
- Admin UKK
- Berita
BANGKOK: Kabinet Thailand meluluskan projek alam sekitar bersama Malaysia yang bertujuan mengurangkan risiko banjir, meningkatkan keselamatan air dan memulihkan ekosistem di Lembangan Sungai Golok, iaitu laluan air merentas sempadan utama yang menghubungkan kedua-dua negara.
Inisiatif yang mendapat sokongan dana sebanyak US$4 juta (RM15.9 juta) daripada Kemudahan Alam Sekitar Global (GEF) itu akan dilaksana dalam tempoh 48 bulan dengan sokongan Pertubuhan Makanan dan Pertanian Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu (FAO).
Timbalan Jurucakap Kerajaan Thailand, Lalida Persvivatana, berkata projek itu dibangunkan secara bersama oleh Pejabat Sumber Air Kebangsaan Thailand dan Jabatan Pengairan dan Saliran (JPS) Malaysia untuk menambah baik pengurusan banjir, menangani hakisan tebing sungai serta memperkukuh pengurusan sumber air merentas sempadan di Lembangan Sungai Golok.
"Projek ini mencerminkan komitmen kedua-dua negara dalam memperkukuh keselamatan alam sekitar dan memastikan pengurusan mampan bagi sumber air yang dikongsi bersama," katanya dalam satu kenyataan selepas mesyuarat Kabinet, semalam.
Lalida berkata, inisiatif berkenaan akan meningkatkan kerjasama dua hala melalui pembangunan pangkalan data bersama, penilaian risiko banjir dan kemarau, serta pelan tindakan strategik bersama untuk lembangan sungai itu.
"Ia juga akan mempromosikan penyelesaian berasaskan alam semula jadi bagi memulihkan ekosistem dan mengurangkan kesan cabaran alam sekitar terhadap komuniti di dalam lembangan berkenaan," katanya.
Sungai Golok membentuk sebahagian daripada sempadan semula jadi antara selatan Thailand dan utara Semenanjung Malaysia, dan sering terkesan oleh banjir bermusim yang menjejaskan komuniti di kedua-dua belah sempadan.
β BERNAMA
Parents wade through flooded access roads to ferry their children to school, and teachers step into knee-deep water to guide children over benches that serve as a bridge over submerged corridors.
Students and staff at the 82-year-old institution, which has an enrollment of 141 in eight classes, have endured floods 10 to 20 times a year since 2014.
Despite the challenges they have been facing, the Klang district education office continued to reject their application to move from its current location in Kampung Teluk Gong β until February 2025 when it was finally approved.
A 2ha site in Bandar Bestari, located 4.18km away, has been gazetted, with construction slated to begin in June.Β Β
However, there is a problem β there is not enough money to underwrite the cost of building a new school.
From village to industrial fringe
School board chairman Yeo Jue Chuan, an alumnus from the 1970s, said the school was once central to village life.
βGenerations of my family studied here. But by the 1980s, factories began to encroach into the village, bringing pollution, heavy traffic, and frequent accidents,β told FMT.
During a visit, FMT observed long lines of lorries along the schoolβs only access road.
The narrow stretch is riddled with potholes, likely worn out by the constant pounding on the tarmac by heavy trucks moving in and out of the surrounding factories.
In fact, it was the traffic problem and the resulting pollution that prompted the school board to start its effort to relocate the school in 2013, a year before the frequent floods began.
Senior assistant for student affairs Tang Mee Lin said when floods happen overnight, parents are notified and reminded to send their children to school in boots.
βIn December last year, the water rose so high that teachers and parents couldnβt enter the school compound, so lessons had to be conducted on Google Meet,β she said.
Even during exam weeks, students had to cross flooded corridors on a makeshift bridge of benches to reach the hall and toilets.
βSometimes, teachers even take turns carrying children from their parentsβ cars and bikes into the compound,β Tang said.
With just a small cleaning staff, teachers and school board members have to lend a hand in cleaning up the classrooms before the first lesson of the day.
βBut whatβs most exhausting is when it rains again the next night. Each time, worms crawl up the walls and into classrooms,β Tang added.
Math teacher Lee Lay Chen said heavy rain and floods during lessons leave her students visibly distracted.
βThey worry about whether or not their homes are flooded, since the surrounding area is low and water rises quickly. As a result, they canβt pay attention in class,β she said.
Tang said the disruptions have forced teachers to adjust lesson plans to minimise the impact on studentsβ learning.
βWe always try different teaching approaches to ensure studentsβ academic performance is not affected, even in situations like this,β she said.
Relocation hurdles, funding gap
Relocation committee chairman Jason Lee said the district education office had turned down the schoolβs request for relocation three times since the efforts began in 2013. He said the officials had argued that issues such as traffic and floods were βmanageableβ.
But the Selangor irrigation department turned things around for the school. A survey it conducted in December 2023 showed that the school sat nearly a foot below the road level, and it was beyond the capacity of the drainage system to prevent frequent floods.
Armed with the report, the board resubmitted its application for relocation to the education ministry in early 2024.Β The Bandar Bestari site was gazetted in October 2024, while full approval followed in February 2025.
But relocating the school comes at a steep price. The new campus is expected to cost RM30 million, and because the land now belongs to the government, the board has no assets to sell.
Since May 2025, the school has raised RM13.5 million through more than 200 fundraising drives and donations, largely from Chinese associations and temple events. Still, a RM16.5 million shortfall remains.
βMore than 80% of Klangβs Chinese community already know about our relocation effort, and many ask why we donβt just get government support. Weβve tried everything we can on our own,β Jason Lee said.
The board is now appealing to federal and state authorities and corporations for special funding. Without it, he warned, the targeted 2028 opening could slip to 2029 or beyond.
βRight now, every time there is a downpour in the night, we are left in fear of another round of flooding, and that problem can only be solved by relocating,β he said.
FMT has reached out to the Klang district education office for comment.
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