KUALA LUMPUR, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- The ongoing heatwave in parts of Malaysia has seen authorities warning citizens to take measures to protect their health.
The worst-hit states are Perlis, Kedah, and Penang with the hot and dry conditions blamed on the El Nino phenomenon. The meteorological department considers temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius for three days in a location to be a heatwave.
Penang state's Public Health Executive Councilor Daniel Gooi Zi Sen told local media on Sunday that the four districts in Peninsular Malaysia most impacted by hot weather in the past week are all in the north.
He also called on medical practitioners to advise their patients about the heatwave, while also checking for signs of heat stroke or fatigue which would be more common now.
Gooi urged people to conserve tap water, limit their activities under the sun, drink water constantly, use a hat or umbrella to protect from the searing sunlight, wear lightweight attire, and use a fan to stay cool.
Previously the country's meteorological department had warned that the El Nino would become more intense until early this year.
The El Nino is a naturally occurring climate pattern associated with warming of ocean surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. ■
