SYNOPSIS

Extreme weather events, often associated with significant physical and financial impacts can vary greatly from year to year due to prevailing climatic conditions, such as El Nino and La Nina. El Nino and La Nina are terms for two types of related major climatic phenomena originating in the tropical Pacific region, that recur every few years as part of a naturally-occurring cycle. El Nino takes place when warmer than usual sea water exists over the central and eastern Pacific, while both areas become relatively cooler during La Nina event. Each has impacts extending worldwide, and the associated changes in regional weather can have severe consequences. The historical data of Malaysia climate show that strong El Nino tend to cause the country to experience drier and warmer weather than normal while the impact of La Nina is not that significant. Currently, the sea surface temperature of the Pacific Ocean indicates that the condition is neither El Nino nor La Nina, i.e. known as neutral. Even though, El Nino and La Nina are considered the most significant climate phenomena being studied by scientists, their existence are still remain inconclusive.


BIODATA OF SPEAKER

Dr Mohd Hisham bin Mohd Anip is currently the Director of Meteorological Instruments Division at Malaysian Meteorological Department. Dr Hisham earned his Bachelor Degree in Mathematics from University of Malaya in 1993 and Master and PhD in Atmospheric Science from University of Missouri Colombia, USA in 2012. He has served in Malaysia Meteorological Department more than 15 years.  Throughout his career, Dr Hisham has been involved as an Assessor for the assessment of the national Aeronautical Meteorological Personnel (AMP) and as the trainers for the new intake and current meteorological personnel at the department Training Center. Not just that, Dr Hisham was also the spokesperson for the department for any weather related events and disasters as well as Representing the department in various national level meetings as an expert in weather related issues.