The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration from the United State had recently announced that the El Nino this year may be the worst in over half a century. They also stated that there is a 90 percent chance that it would continue in 2016.

The effects of the El Nino are large and can affect the entire globe in different ways. Explanations regarding this phenomenon also differ depending on region, so people may be confused when trying to look up information regarding the El Nino.

However, that is not a reason to give up learning about it. The influence of El Nino is great in our country, so the people should at least know how what El Nino means to Malaysia. For us, El Nino simply means dryer weather. Unfortunately, the problems that follow it are not that simple.

The dry weather brought by El Nino is closely related to the bush fires in Australia. This is another point we must take note of because the current haze is partly attributed to the fires within Malaysia. Since this time’s El Nino is expected to be very serious, we can also expect more cases of fires if we do not take any special actions. State authorities need to pay extra attention on this issue and identify the fire prone areas before it is too late.

Dry weather also means we get less rainfall, especially for Sabah and Sarawak which are closer to the Pacific Ocean. For some states, this also means higher probability of water supply disruptions. This has already happened in Johor, and will likely happen in the other states that are not well prepared. What makes this worse is that the problems may last until next year.

One thing consumers can do is prepare water tanks to store at least two to three days’ worth of water supply. Those that have some extra income can also consider installing a rain water harvesting system in your house. Even if there is rain, it may not fall into the dams and water catchments, but it may fall onto your house, plus it can help you reduce water usage in the future. It is also important to start learning how to use less water from now on.

Start getting used to with lower water usage now or you would be very uncomfortable if the water supply problem really occurs.

The El Nino is a natural phenomenon that we cannot prevent, so the only thing we can do is prepare for it. We already have a preview of the problems that would occur from our previous experiences, so all we need to do is make the proper preparations.

NAH KOK WAI is research and policy executive, Forum Air Malaysia.