PETALING JAYA: Be prepared for a double whammy tomorrow and steaming hot afternoons for the rest of the month.

The situation will be made all the more unbearable with the equinox tomorrow, when the sun shines directly over the Equator, and the heatwave caused by the El Nino phenomenon.

Malaysian Meteorological De­­part­­­ment director-general Datuk Che Gayah Ismail said the heatwave was expected to continue until the end of the month.

“We are expecting maximum tem­­­­peratures to be recorded between 2pm and 4pm,” she said.

For Chuping, Perlis, which recorded the highest temperature in the country this month at 39°C on Monday and yesterday, she said it would range between 38°C and 39°C.

According to the Meteorological Department website, the temperature in Petaling Jaya at 5pm yesterday was 33°C while Alor Setar recorded 36°C; Ipoh and Seberang Perai 35°C; Kuala Pilah, Negri Sembilan, 34°C; Senai, Johor, 34°C; and Malacca, 33°C.

On weather.com, Nakhon Sawan, Thailand, is forecasted to be the hottest place in the region ranging between 38°C and 42°C.

It is the highest in comparison to Chuping which will range between 36°C and 38°C; Yangon, Myanmar, 37°C-39°C; Singapore 33°C-34°C; Manila, Philippines, 33°C-36°C; Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, 33°C-36°C and Pekanbaru, Indonesia, 32°C-34°C.

On Monday Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Wilfred Madius Tangau said in a statement that the El Nino pheno­menon was the main reason for the current hot and dry weather being experienced in the country.

Tangau said the last time Malaysia experienced similar wea­ther conditions was 1997-1998, also due to a strong El Nino.