A port is covered with thick haze in Port
Klang, outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2014. Photograph: Lai
Seng Sin/AP
Singapore and Malaysia are grappling with some of the driest weather they
have ever seen, forcing the tiny city-state to ramp up supplies of recycled
water while its neighbour rations reserves amid disruptions to farming and
fisheries.
Singapore, which experiences tropical downpours on most days, suffered its
longest dry spell on record between Jan 13 and Feb 8 and has had little rain
since.
Shares in Hyflux Ltd, which operates desalination and water recycling
operations there, have risen 3.5% over the past month.
In peninsular Malaysia, 15 areas have not had rainfall in more than 20 days,
with some of them dry for more than a month, according to the Malaysian
Meteorological Department.
The dry spell in the Southeast Asian neighbours is expected to run for
another two weeks, forecasters say.
The Indonesian province of Riau has also been hit, with part of the region
wreathed in smog, usually caused by farmers setting fires to illegally clear
land. Poor visibility has disrupted flights to and from the airport in
Pekanbaru.
Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak was due to discuss the drought at a
regular cabinet meeting on Wednesday that would decide whether to declare a
national emergency, according to state news agency Bernama.
While some dry weather is expected at this time of year, the abnormal lack of
rain is raising concerns about the pace of climate change in the region.
“The concern is that these uncommon weather events may be happening more
frequently sooner rather than later,” said National University of Singapore
weather researcher Winston Chow.
Malaysia is the world’s second-largest producer of palm oil and planters say
dry weather lasting more than two months can hurt yields six months to two years
down the line, affecting output and fuelling benchmark Kuala Lumpur
prices.
Concerns that dry weather will hurt production have helped push up palm oil
prices about 8% in February, setting the market on track for its biggest monthly
gain in four months.
The lack of rain is also believed to have caused extensive damage to the rice
crop.
In Singapore the dry weather is being blamed in part for the mass death of
fish stocks at several offshore farms. Around 160 tonnes of fish have died in
recent weeks because of a lack of oxygen in the water.
The Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) said it had received more
than 7,000 calls involving forest and bush fires nationwide since the beginning
of February, due to the hot weather, five times higher than in the same period
last year.
Selangor, Malaysia’s richest and most industrialized state, began limited
water rationing on Tuesday as levels in its dams plunged to critical lows.
“We pledge that every consumer will receive water, but it will be rationed to
ensure supply every two days,” Bernama quoted state chief minister Abdul Khalid
Ibrahim as saying.
“In a week, consumers will receive water for four days.”
The state of Negeri Sembilan near the capital, Kuala Lumpur, declared a
“state of crisis” last week as water in its dams fell to critical levels.
In Singapore, the Public Utilities Board (PUB) has boosted the supply of
recycled water, known as NEWater, and desalinated supplies, in order to keep up
reservoir levels.
Singapore’s national security concerns mean it has developed into one of the
world leaders in water technology as it tries to cut reliance on imported
supplies from Malaysia.
Around 55% of Singapore’s water is now desalinated or recycled, in line with
an aim to be self-sufficient by 2061, when a 1962 agreement to buy 250 million
gallons per day from Malaysia ends, according to the PUB.
The deal lets Singapore buy 250 million gallons of water a day from Malaysia
at 0.03 ringgit ($0.01) per 1,000 gallons, and sell back treated water for 0.50
ringgit per 1,000 gallons.
Johor, the southern Malaysian state that borders Singapore, has been urging
an early re-negotiation, saying the deal is too advantageous to the city-state.
“The talks should begin immediately,” Hasni Mohammad, chairman of a state
public works panel, told Bernama in an interview on 18 February.
“We have long been in a losing position when we sell raw water to Singapore
at three sen (for 1,000 gallons),” he said, adding that the price of treated
water was too high.
