KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) aims to speed up the dissemination of earthquake and tsunami warnings from eight minutes to six minutes upon detection, starting this year, to enhance disaster preparedness.
Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Datuk Seri Arthur Joseph Kurup said the accuracy of weather forecasts will also increase from 82% to 85%, in line with efforts to improve the country’s early warning system (EWS).
“To ensure readiness, MetMalaysia operates the early warning system 24/7, coordinating with disaster management agencies at both federal and state levels,” he said.
He was responding to a question from Datuk Seri Jalaluddin Alias (BN-Jelebu) on the effectiveness of the EWS in delivering timely alerts, particularly in rural areas, during the question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Arthur added that the government has allocated RM242 million for upgrading the weather warning system, including new radar and forecasting projects.
In addition, RM18 million has been allocated under the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP) for developing the National Tsunami Early Warning System.
He said MetMalaysia is also enhancing its weather forecasting with the Radar Integrated Nowcasting System (RANS), which provides near-real-time rainfall predictions.
“The Numerical Weather Prediction System has been improved with High-Performance Computing, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, enabling more accurate forecasts up to 14 days ahead with higher resolution,” Arthur said.
Arthur added that all warnings issued by MetMalaysia are accessible through the Met API (Application Programming Interface) and the public sector open data portal for use by government agencies, the private sector, and the public.
In line with this effort. he said MetMalaysia also shares real-time rainfall data with the Department of Irrigation and Drainage to support flood forecasting operations. – January 26, 2026