PETALING JAYA: Following weeks of evening downpour that was expected to last until the end of this month, experts are now predicting that Peninsular Malaysia will be drier by the time Chinese New Year arrives.

       Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) director-general Muhammad Helmi Abdullah said although the weather may improve in several states, thunderstorms are still expected in the evenings and well into the late nights in Sabah, Selangor, Negri Sembilan, and Johor in the coming weeks.

       “It will be warmer and drier, particularly at the northern states of Peninsular Malaysia and Kelantan,” Helmi told The Star.

       Floods triggered by days of continuous downpour between Dec 17 and 19 last year displaced more than 50,000 people across the country.

       Commenting on the floods, Helmi said the highest amount of rainfall recorded last December was at the Kuantan meteorological station, which recorded a rainfall of 1,035.2mm.

       “However, it isn’t the highest on record compared to the total rainfall for December five years ago, between 2016 and 2020,” said Helmi, who pointed out that the Kerteh meteorological station in Terengganu recorded the highest rainfall of 1,078.4mm in 2020.

       Meanwhile, two other weather experts have also said that Peninsular Malaysia is set to have warmer weather by February.

       This, however, will not be so for Sabah and Sarawak.

       Universiti Malaya’s Prof Datuk Dr Azizan Abu Samah said Malaysia is currently at the tail end of the northeast monsoon.

       “The two states tend to have their wetter months in January and February,” he said.

       Azizan also cited data from the Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Centre (FNMOC), which indicated that the La Nina phenomenon caused a surge in rainfall by 10% to 20% for Malaysia.

       “As of now until Jan 15 in Peninsular Malaysia, we are clear of any major mesoscale cloud clusters, and hence, flood threats,” added Azizan.

       Meanwhile, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia climatologist Prof Dr Fredolin Tangang expects Malaysia to still be in the northeast monsoon season until early February.

       “Extreme weather is less likely to take place in Peninsular Malaysia, except in Sabah and Sarawak, where extreme rainfall typically occurs in February,” added Fredolin.

       The northeast monsoon season usually runs from October to March.

       Last year, MetMalaysia said that most of the rain during the period had fallen between November and December on the east coast of the peninsula.

       On Dec 19 last year, the Environment and Water Ministry said downpours that lasted over 24 hours beginning Dec 17, were a once-in-a-100-year weather event.

       The ministry said the phenomenon occurred due to monsoon flow factors and a low pressure weather system that achieved the level of a tropical depression that formed in the South China Sea.