Sweaters and brollies the 'in' accessories for Malaysians

PETALING JAYA • Malaysia will be a cool place to be in for the next week or so - literally.

Temperatures are expected to stay low until sometime next week due to cold surges as a result of the north-east monsoon.

Universiti Malaya's Professor Datuk Dr Azizan Abu Samah said the country was entering the tail end of the monsoon, which is expected to be over next month.

The cold surges will bring a drop in temperature of between 2 deg C and 3 deg C as the winds originate from Siberia, which is now experiencing temperatures of -25 deg C.

"We can expect cool and wet weather conditions until the current surge ends sometime next week. This will then result in clearer skies but thunderstorms can still occur," he said.

He said the lack of daytime cloud cover as a result of the north-east monsoon could also see areas such as Chuping in the northern state of Perlis posting a maximum daytime temperature of 38 deg C or more.

"The occurrence of cold surges will also tend to increase the wind speed over the South China Sea and can produce waves of between 2m and 3m high, which can be dangerous to smaller fishing boats," he said.

The Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) said humid weather conditions are forecast especially for states on the country's East Coast.

MetMalaysia director-general Muhammad Helmi Abdullah warned of a high potential of thunderstorms occurring across states such as Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and Johor until the middle of this month.

"There is also a high possibility of thunderstorms in West Coast states such as Selangor, Perak and Melaka, with heavy rain and strong winds," he said, adding that humid weather conditions are also expected in Sabah and Sarawak until March but the northern states of Perlis, Kedah and Penang are likely to stay dry.

Meanwhile, extreme weather and lightning expert Hartono Zainal Abidin said the possibility of widespread thunderstorms and incidents of lightning or freak storms could not be ruled out due to the inter-monsoon period, which has arrived earlier this year.

"The strength and duration of these freak storms, however, depend on how high the cumulonimbus clouds are," he said.

Mr Hartono said it is nearly impossible to forecast exactly where and when these phenomena would occur, citing recent occurrences of freak storms and winds in Ipoh and Penang.

"The public should be wary when there are dark clouds which are usually associated with thunderstorms.

"Just like lightning, these freak storms can take place before rain falls," he said.

THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK