00:00Goodbye, haze. What's next?
00:05Well, Malaysians, we might finally be able to breathe a little easier.
00:09After months of hazy skies, some good news could be on the way.
00:13Remember how bad things got?
00:15The haze began in August and by September,
00:18Saran in Sarawak even declared an emergency
00:20after its air pollutant index hit a whopping 521.
00:24But weather experts say relief is coming
00:26thanks to the ongoing northeast monsoon.
00:28So how does that help?
00:30The change in wind direction coupled with increased rainfall
00:33could help clear the haze and put out peatland fires
00:36in places like Sumatra and Kalimantan.
00:38Sounds like a breath of fresh air, right?
00:41Here's the catch.
00:42While the haze may be leaving, El Nino is still in the picture
00:45and it could mean hotter, drier weather towards the end of the year
00:49and into early next year.
00:51In the northern peninsula, that's a concern.
00:54With dam water levels known to be falling to critical
00:57or warning levels during that period.
00:59MED Malaysia has also warned that temperatures could challenge
01:02the country's current record of 40.1 degrees Celsius
01:05which was recorded in Chuping Perlis during the 1997-1998 El Nino.
01:10So while the northeast monsoon may bring 3 to 5 episodes of heavy rain,
01:13conditions could turn hot and dry again as the season winds down.
01:17But the heavy rain also brings a familiar danger.
01:20Severe floods across parts of Malaysia, especially the east coast of the peninsula.
01:25This means the weather challenges aren't just going away.
01:28They're just changing.
01:30For now, we may finally be saying goodbye to the haze
01:33but with El Nino still here, Malaysia isn't quite off the woods
01:37or the weather just yet.
