The government might declare a water emergency if it does not rain within the next three weeks.

Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Dr Maximus Ongkili ( right ) said that the National Security Council might take such a step if the weather condition nationwide does not improve.

“We are all praying for rain. If it does not, it is going to be really bad,” he was reported saying by The Star today.

Ongkili said water levels have decreased mainly due to the prolonged dry spell.

To make matters worse, the dry spell is now coupled with worsening haze situation, especially in the peninsula, caused by peat swamp fires in Pahang and Johor.

The report also said that the planes regularly used to conduct cloud seeding in cases of thick haze is currently being used to help locate the missing Malaysian Airlines MH370 jet which went missing en route to Beijing on March 8.