The Met Department (MetMalaysia) has revealed that our current wet and rainy season is expected to last till May 2021, due to the phenomenon known as La Niña.
“The north-east monsoon phase that started on Nov 11 is expected to continue until March 2021. This will cause more winds from the north-east with speeds between 10kph and 20kph,” it said.
The east coast of the peninsula, the west of Sarawak and the east of Sabah can also expect a series of heavy rains.
“In December, some places in the northern and east coast of the peninsula such as Perlis, Kedah and Hulu Perak are expected to receive above average rainfall of between 100mm and 300mm. Kelantan, Terengganu and north-east Pahang are expected to receive above average rainfall of between 650mm and 1,100mm,” it added.
Meanwhile, the country’s weather conditions are expected to be affected by the south-west monsoon phase in May 2021, with the peninsula expected to receive average rainfall between 100mm and 300mm except for a few areas in Johor.
Also, Sarawak is expected to receive below average rainfall in several places at between 150mm and 250mm while Sabah and Labuan are expected to receive an average of between 100mm and 350mm.
For your information, La Niña is a phenomenon that describes cooler than normal ocean surface temperatures in the Eastern and Central Pacific Ocean, regions close to the equator off the west coast of South America.
But in some parts of the world, such as Malaysia, La Niña causes increased rainfall, while in other regions, it causes extreme dry conditions.
Here's a video on how La Niña works:
The conditions that cause La Niña recur every few years and can persist for as long as two years.
by Kyle Roshen Jacob
