PETALING JAYA: Kota Marudu in Sabah has become Malaysia’s hottest location with the biggest number of high temperature alerts so far this year.
The district located 130km north of the state capital Kota Kinabalu has received nine alerts since January.
They comprise eight Level 1 Alerts and one Level 2 Alert, according to figures from the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia).
Limbang in Sarawak received the second highest number of alerts (8) and followed by Machang in Kelantan (6).
Six locations each recorded five heat alerts, namely Baling (Kedah), Kampar (Perak), Marudi and Sibu (Sarawak), and Sandakan and Telupid (Sabah).
A Level 1 (Yellow) alert is issued when the temperature in a particular location hits between 35 to 37 degrees Celsius for at least three consecutive days.
A Level 2 (Orange) alert means a location is in a heatwave with temperatures going above 37 but remaining below 40 degrees Celsius.
A Level 3 (Red) alert means a location is in an extreme heatwave with a temperature of more than 40 degrees Celsius.
MetMalaysia’s data shows Sabah topping the list of states with the highest number of alerts this so far year at 35.
This was followed by Sarawak (29) and Kedah (17).
Last year saw Kedah with the highest number of alerts for January to August at 472, followed by Kelantan (274) and Pahang (188).
In total, fewer heat alerts have been issued this year compared to the same period last year.
A total of 121 heat alerts have been issued since Jan this year.
In comparison, 2024 saw 1,597 alerts from January to August 3.
The Star reported on Tuesday (Aug 5) that seven out of the 43 dams in Peninsula Malaysia have reached critical levels, with one at warning level.
Authorities have already begun cloud seeding operations at the Bukit Merah dam in Perak, which has seen water levels drop drastically.
