Taiping is known as the "wettest town in peninsular Malaysia," or, more simply, "Rain Town" — but that has not stopped it from being hit by a monthlong drought. Luckily, that drought appears to finally be at an end, The Star reported.
Many of Taiping's residents were seemingly in disbelief at the extended dry conditions on the normally rainy peninsula.
"There has been no rain for almost a month; I could only do exercises early in the morning, before 7 a.m., to avoid the extreme heat," ride-hailing driver Jarrod Nelson told The Star.
"I've never seen the Taiping Lake this dry … I was shocked to find that the water level has dropped by more than half, revealing the lake bed," Zakri Yusoff told New Straits Times.
By the end of July, the channel of lakes at the Taiping Lake Gardens was 70% evaporated, leaving the cracked, dry mud visible. Fortunately, the nearly dry Taiping Lake has already begun filling up again, much to the relief of the locals.
"I am truly thankful that the weather has returned to normal and we no longer need to bear the heat," fruit seller Mohd Firdaus Hamid told The Star.
Broadly speaking, although Taiping seems to have overcome the worst of its dry spell, the fact that a place known as the rainiest town on Earth went a month without rain does not bode well for our planet.
Extended drought conditions have become more frequent and more unpredictable throughout the world. This is largely a consequence of air pollution from dirty energy sources such as gas and oil changing the climate. (In some cases, water overuse and mismanagement have also been to blame.)
In many areas, droughts are threatening crop yields and food supplies, and they have left farmers scrambling to figure out how to maintain their livelihoods.
Although scientists are working hard to figure out how to genetically engineer drought-resistant crops, it is clear that to truly confront this growing crisis, we must cool the planet down. We can switch from dirty energy sources to clean, renewable sources, such as wind and solar, to prevent the overheating of our planet.
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