Public unaware of dangers of extreme heat

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 27 (Bernama) -- Today's society is seen to be less concerned over the excessively hot weather which is expected to continue until the end of March.

Malaysian Islamic Doctors Association (Perdim) committee member Dr Zubaidi Ahmad said this lackadaisical attitude of the people could be detrimental as the heatwave could cause serious health problems or even death.

"Actually this hot weather phenomenon occurs almost every year and it seems to be seasonal. Prolonged exposure to high temperature will usually give rise to solar radiation (long-term effect) and heat stroke (short-term effect),” he said when contacted by Bernama today.

According to him, as Malaysia is surrounded by water the people will not feel the direct impact of the extreme hot weather as we have plenty of water to drink at any time.

"But there will come a time when all of a sudden children and elderly people will be down with fever or suffering from asthma caused by dehydration due to the hot weather," he said.

“The relevant authorities such as the Ministry of Health and the Meteorological Department should always keep the people informed of rising temperatures to prevent untoward incidents,” he added.

-- BERNAMA