El Nino havoc possible this year

by Rintos Mail, reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on March 30, 2014, Sunday

When an El Nino event is predicted, environment controllers and policy-makers in the region should impose a total ban on large-scale land clearing or open burning, not just in Malaysia (or Sarawak) but also in the other countries of Southeast Asia.

RECORD-BREAKING heat, brought on by El Nino, could wreak havoc on weather patterns this year.

Based on an early warning report, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), there is a 75 per cent chance of such an event occurring in 2014.

The strongest effects on precipitation are in Southeast Asia and the western Pacific Ocean, especially in the dry season (August to November).

The highest global temperatures were reportedly recorded during the last strong El Nino in 1998.

Given the continued increases in baseline temperature around the world, an El Nino event this year could lead to record-breaking heat.

According to the PNAS report, this could send temperatures soaring worldwide, causing droughts in Australia and Southeast Asia, heavy rain and flooding in parts of the US and South America.

This time around if it happens Sarawak and Malaysia, as a whole, will not be spared.

A senior officer from the Malaysia Meteorological Department in Kuala Lumpur Wong Teck Kiong said Malaysia would definitely be affected if El Nino struck again.

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El Nino havoc possible this year