Rest assured, winter is not coming to Malaysia: Mets Dept

KUALA LUMPUR: The blast of cold air from Siberia, which sent cold waves across Europe, will not find its way to Malaysia, Malaysian Meteorological Department assured.
Its director-general Alui Bahari said the condition of the wind in the next few days did not permit for the country to experience another cold breeze as occurred early this year, as well as in the east coast in early February.
"Based on our recent observation, there is no possibility of the cold weather to happen here in the near time as what had occurred in Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, inner Kedah and northern Perak between Feb 9 to 11.
"This is because the wind direction in the next seven days will be coming from the West Pacific ocean, and not from Siberia," Alui told theSun.
The cold phenomenon in Siberia, dubbed the "Beast From The East", brought upon freezing temperatures across various region in Europe.
The cold weather was linked to deaths in several affected countries as temperature plummeted below freezing point.
Early this year, cold breeze that swept across the country brought down the temperature in various areas, a situation largely contributed by the weather condition in Siberia.
Malaysians, who were caught off-guard with the bizarre weather pattern, described the condition as akin to the winter season.
Alui said the month of February was the period where minimum temperature could be experienced in the east coast states.
"Therefore, we do not expect that the cold weather that had happened last month would continue in the coming months," he said.
He added as Malaysia is located close to the Equator, the temperature during the cold season would normally remain between 15°C to 19°C.
For the record, the lowest temperature ever recorded in Malaysia (excluding highlands) is 15.7°C in Kuala Krai, Kelantan on Feb 3, 2014.