El Niño is Back - How Will Malaysia Face It?

Earlier in May 2023, the UN's World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warned us that we were leaving an "exceptionally long La Niña weather phenomenon that intensified drought and flooding" and that El Niño, its warming opposite in the cycle, would likely be on the cards for 2023. That indeed happened in July, and while these are natural phenomenons, it is also taking place against a background of human-induced climate change, which is increasing global temperatures, affecting seasonal rainfall patterns, and making our weather more extreme. So what lies in store for Malaysia? Past occurrences of El Niño here brought hotter and drier weather, causing dams to dry up, and subsequent water rationing exercises for the public. Are we headed for a water crisis, or are we better prepared now? We discuss this and more with Aznie Rahim, the Principal Assistant Secretary for Water Resources, at the Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change (NRECC), and Law Yao Hua, the Co-Founder of Macaranga.