Take a walk outside for a few minutes and you can already feel the sweltering heat. The hot weather is sure to take its toll on many, but especially older folks and young children. Parents should take heed and ensure that your children are well-rested and adequately hydrated.
Following this bout of hot weather, the Ministry of Education has released a statement urging schools’ management to take precautionary measures, according to Bernama.
Being Aware of the Dangers of Hot Weather
The ministry also stated that schools needed to be on alert and keep a close eye on the weather. Furthermore, the ministry advised schools to carry out the following steps as necessary:
- Monitor activities that can expose students to the hot weather to ensure that the students’ health is not affected
- Postpone all activities taking place out of the classroom if the weather becomes too hot
- Ensure that there is adequate water supply in the school
- Advise and encourage students to drink sufficient water to control their body temperature
- Provide water to students living in hostels if the situation becomes critical and there are no other sources of water
- Always stay alert and work together with nearby clinics and hospitals if any complications occur to students as a result of the hot weather
Other than that, all schools are reminded to beware of the dangers of hot weather and to proceed based on standard operating procedures. The respective state educations departments and district education offices are to ensure that schools comply with the measures. The ministry also states that it will make updates and announcements based on any changes in the current weather phenomena.
This heat is expected to continue until the end of March, said Dr Mohd Hisham Mohd Anip, who is the director of the National Weather and Geophysics Operations Centre of the Meteorological Department.
He stated that it is a normal phenomena that occurs at the tail end of the North East Monsoon, reported Bernama. This hot weather is expected to end in the middle of the monsoon transition, which is between March and May. Rainfall will increase then and the temperature will drop.
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