BY LOH FOON FONG AND SYED AZHAR
KUALA LUMPUR: An oceanographer has advised Malaysians to watch out for heavy rain, which could cause floods, in the next few days following the cooler weather.
The cold monsoon wind could get trapped in the warm atmospheric front once it hits the land mass in the east coast and Sabah and Sarawak, said Universiti Teknologi Malaysia’s Institute of Geospatial Science & Technology associate professor Dr Maged Mahmoud Marghany.
“The release of industrial pollution and heat in the atmospheric layer will cause extremely low atmospheric pressure.
“This will trap the strong monsoon wind and carry it inland and bring about heavy rain and flood,” said Dr Maged who studies physical and biological aspects of the seas.
Dr Maged said the severity of the heavy rain would depend on the severity of the heat and the contrast it would make when cold and hot air converged, resulting in condensation.
He said that in June 2006, the forest fire in Indonesia resulted in increased humidity and heat in the atmosphere and due to the slow weak wind above Johor, the heat still hovered in the area during the monsoon season.
When the cold north-east monsoon wind converged with the heat, it resulted in heavy rain and flood in Johor, the state nearest to the forest fire, he said.
Meanwhile, in Kuala Krai, Kelantan, the cold weather over the past few days has been a boon for garment shop operators.
A random check yesterday showed a marked increase in sales for cotton clothes and the residents in this district were seen wearing thick jackets or winter clothes.
A garment seller at a market, Mohd Rizwani Abdul Halim, 34, said sales of winter clothes have been good as it gets incredibly cold during the nights and early mornings.
“It had forced many to fork out money to buy such clothes to face the cold days ahead,” he said.
According to the Meteorological Department’s website, the temperature in Kuala Krai was at 19°C on Thursday and 18°C on Friday.
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