KUALA LUMPUR: The public has been warned to limit activities in at-risk locations in the afternoon following frequent thunderstorms at this time.

       Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) director-general Muhammad Helmi Abdullah said those who wished to go to sea or visit resort islands should be mindful of the strong winds and rough seas alert issued by MetMalaysia.

       "Information on strong winds and rough seas is important for tourists who want to travel by sea to avoid being trapped on resort islands. Make sure you get authentic information from MetMalaysia,” he said when appearing in the Bernama TV programme, ‘Ruang Bicara’ titled ‘Amaran Awal dan Tindakan Awal’ (Early Warning and Early Action) on Tuesday (March 22) night.

       Muhammad Helmi said that warnings of strong winds and rough seas can be issued earlier than those of heavy rain and thunderstorms which can only be detected by radar images after cloud formations are detected or thunderstorms have already started at a location.

       He said warnings of thunderstorms could not be issued in advance as the technology to detect the exact location of a thunderstorm has yet to be developed.

       He said for landslides, early warnings were difficult to issue as there were several factors that caused this natural disaster to occur including geological factors and heavy rains.

       "So, residents living in at-risk areas must always be alert of thunderstorm warnings issued by MetMalaysia and must always be aware of their environment as a precautionary measure," said Muhammad Helmi.

       He said in conjunction with World Meteorological Day on Wednesday (March 23), MetMalaysia is committed to raising public awareness so that they could practise vigilance over extreme weather conditions, earthquakes and tsunamis, adding that the department would carry out various promotions to increase people’s knowledge about the services that it provided. - Bernama