Heatwave withers lake, threatens rice crop in Malaysia’s north as climate crisis bites
- Experts warn the drought, brought about by El Niño, could impact agricultural yields and lead to food price instability
The drought is being attributed to the 2023–2024 El Niño weather event, which at its peak was measured as one of the five strongest on record, resulting in widespread water shortages, flooding and other natural disasters across the globe.
The incoming La Niña weather event, however, is expected to bring higher-than-normal rainfall, meteorologists warn, which could result in severe flooding as it coincides with the yearly flood season in December.
In Malaysia, the El Niño weather phenomenon has collided with the regular regional Southwest Monsoon season, which brings lower air humidity, causing less rain cloud formation and lower rainfall from May to September, according to the Meteorology Department.
Taiping, Malaysia’s wettest town on average, has gone without rain for over a month and the water has run dry at the area’s famous Taiping Lake Gardens, endangering its fertile collection of century-old rain trees.