Malaysia is expected to go through a water supply crisis until September due to the prolonged dry season and heatwave currently sweeping the nation, says Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Wilfred Madius Tangau.
According to Tangau, despite predictions that the El Nino weather phenomenon attributed to causing the current heatwave will dissipate by June, dry and hot weather will continue to buffet Malaysia as a result of the Southwest monsoon winds from May until September.
“The Southwest monsoon winds will shift from May to September, bringing the yearly hot and dry season,” he said today, as quoted by mStar.
“Only after that will we move into the rainy monsoon season until the end of the year.”
The prolonged dry season will adversely affect Malaysia’s reserves of fresh water, with water levels in dams across the country all dropping to critical levels, Tangau added.
The Federal Government is currently taking steps to address the situation by conducting rain seeding exercises in water catchment areas, including in Perlis, Kedah, Perak, Johor, and Sabah.
Tangau said rain seeding operations would be carried out daily, barring any technical hiccups.
