TEMPERATURES in Baram and Mukah in the interior of northern Sarawak have risen to 37°C in the past week.
Baram social activist Willie Kajan said it was getting too hot and dry for April.
"I saw from Meteorological Department figures that the 37°C mark has been reached and that an Alert 1 had been issued,” he said.
"This sort of heat is usually felt in July or August, but now even in April we are feeling intense heat.
"This is a warning sign of the possible onset of drought.”
He urged the water authority to put in place contingency plans now to help those in remote settlements who are running out of clean water.
Since March 20, huge forest fires have raged in dozens of hectares of land near the Sarawak-Brunei border.
It is unclear what sparked off the latest round of wildfires, whether it was open burning of agricultural waste or the dry spell.
It was reported that 35 cases of wildfires have been recorded in Sarawak since Feb 20.
Northern Sarawak is notorious for its annual fires and haze, with Miri being one of the areas worst hit by air pollution. – April 12, 2024.
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