Global Courant
KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia, which has suffered a heat wave in recent months, is expected to experience weak El Nino conditions from June, the environment minister said on Wednesday.
The intensity of the weather phenomenon will increase to moderate levels by November and result in a 20 to 40 percent reduction in rainfall, said Mr Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, the Minister of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change.
Some effects of El Nino will also be visible around March to April next year, he said in parliament.
So far, Malaysia is not expected to experience an extreme heat wave with temperatures exceeding 38 degrees Celsius for several consecutive days, Nik Nazmi said.
“However, there is still a possibility that the country will experience slightly higher than normal temperatures, with an increase of 0.5°C to 1°C,” he added.
Early signs of hot, dry weather due to El Nino threaten food producers across Asia, with palm oil and rice production likely to suffer in Indonesia and Malaysia — which supply 80 percent of the world’s palm oil — and Thailand, according to analysts.
Malaysia is the world’s second largest producer of widely consumed palm oil.
The country’s crude palm oil production could fall between 1 million and 3 million tons next year due to El Nino, the Malaysian Palm Oil Board said in late May. REUTERS
