Warm and dry weather soon, as storm system moves east
KUALA LUMPUR: A weather phenomenon known as the Madden-Julian Oscillation is behind the unusual storms and excessive rainfall experienced recently, especially in the Klang Valley, says a climate expert.
Prof Dr Fredolin Tangang of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, a climatology and oceanography specialist, said the weather should be hot and dry as the country was currently in the midst of the south-west monsoon season.
He said the MJO phenomenon was part of the variable climate that occurs between seasons in tropical regions.
A large-scale atmospheric convection system forms in the western Indian Ocean, moving eastward crossing Malaysia and Indonesia and across into the Pacific Ocean. It oscillates once in 20 to 60 days, and occurs in eight phases, he said.
The Klang Valley has experienced unusual storms of late with extremely heavy rainfall in the late afternoons.
A report from the US Climate Prediction Centre said that the MJO would occur in the Indian Ocean in the first week of this month, and was currently in phase 3.
“This situation has led to the high rainfall rate currently experienced, similar to that in April and May, where the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia usually experienced rain in the afternoon, until late at night.
“However, this situation will only last for another one to two weeks, when the phenomenon moves more towards the east, and the centre of the convection passes our region,” he said.
He added that the country was expected to experience warmer and drier weather once MJO shifted eastwards, in phases 4 to 7 of the phenomenon.
Fredolin said studies had shown that the south-west monsoon season, between June and August, yielded higher rainfall in the west coast of the peninsula, compared to the east.
— BERNAMA
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