Malaysia’s weather is so hot that it can warp a payment card

Across peninsular Malaysia, the heat is getting unbearable and posing health risks for many, and nowhere is this felt more sharply than in Kedah and Perlis, two northern states at the centre of Malaysia’s food-growing belt.Over the start of the Eid period last weekend, the scorching sun dampened the holiday mood during the festival marking the end of the holiest month in the Islamic calendar.Families are timing visits to avoid the fierce afternoon sun, farmers are watching paddy fields – known locally as “padi” – dry out, and religious authorities have urged Muslims to perform special prayers for rain as mercury levels soar in parts of the country.As of Wednesday morning, three Kedah districts were under a Level 2 heatwave alert, indicating maximum daily temperatures of between 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 Fahrenheit) and 40 degrees for at least three consecutive days, according to the health ministry, citing data from the Malaysian Meteorological Department. Perlis remained under a Level 1 alert, with temperatures ranging from 35 degrees to 37 degrees.Kedah is widely known as the country’s “rice bowl”, and meteorologists say the hot spell could last until the start of the southwest monsoon in June, after weeks of dry weather and below-normal rainfall in many areas.As of Monday, some parts of Kedah had gone up to 17 days without rain, while Perlis had recorded 15 dry days, according to the Malaysian Meteorological Department.