"Heatwave Emergency" if temperature exceeds 40 degrees Celcius for 7 days or more - Wan Junaidi

The Government is ready to declare a "Heatwave Emergency" if the temperature exceeds 40 degrees Celcius for seven days or more.

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, announced the move as part of the new heatwave action plan, approved by the Cabinet today.

The guidelines, which come into force with immediate effect addressed on what needs to be done based on three warning levels.

For the first stage warning, Wan Junaidi said, the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry will issue a heatwave alert for an area if the mean maximum temperature exceeds 37 degrees Celcius three days in a row.

"When the first warning is issued, we will order the postponement of outdoor activities at schools and outdoor sports activities,” he said at a press conference here today.

However if the temperature hits 37 degrees Celcius for more that three days, which is the second stage in the warning level, schools in the affected areas will be ordered to close.

Meanwhile under the stage three warning level, a "Heatwave Emergency" would be declared in any area if the maximum temperature exceeds 40 degrees Celcius for seven or more days.

"However, the action plan to face such a bad situation will be fine tuned by the Technical Committee which involves all ministries and government agencies when it meets next Monday," he said.