The Heatwave Is So Bad We Might Not Have Enough Water To Plant Padi

The hot and dry season might go on till May, and at the moment, the scorching heat coupled with no rain has affected the water levels in dams and also the planting of padi.

Minister of Water, Land and Natural Resources Dr Xavier Jayakumar spoke on water levels, as quoted by The Star,

“The three are Muda Dam (Kedah) at 58.97%, Machap Dam (Johor) at 55.61% and Sembrong Dam (Johor) at 54.07% while for the Bukit Kwong Dam in Kelantan, the storage is at 37.28%.”

Source: the straits times

Dr Xavier explained that the extreme weather suffered by the country has terribly affected the water sources as well as agricultural activities. He noted that certain areas in the country had not received any rain at all. In Setiu, Terengganu, rain has not fallen for the past 30 days while in Hulu Perak, it is 56 days. He added,

“Other critical areas that have received only a cumulative rainfall (for the quarterly period of January to March) that is below 25% of the average annual rainfall include Rembau and Tampin in Negri Sembilan, Rompin in Pahang, and Hulu Perak in Perak.”

Source: the star

As a result of the dry spell, Dr Xavier mentioned that the daily water use of everyone, whether it is for residential, industrial or agricultural, should be adequately managed.

Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Salahuddin Ayub has stated that more than 2,555 farmers in Kelantan are affected by the drought caused by the hot weather. He also mentioned that if the drought continues, MetMalaysia with the ministry will use their allocation for cloud seeding.

It is time for us to start saving water and rationing it to prepare if the dry spell continues. Although some of us have already got some rain, it is still not enough. Please don’t waste water ok?

Also read: Malaysia is Experiencing the Equinox Where the Sun is at the Top of the Equator