London's Olympic Park & Zaha Hadid

In 2013 I did a walking tour of the Olympic Park in London. One year after the Olympic and Paralympic Games 2012 in London, the venue started opening up for visitors and sports people. The area is being transformed into the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

A small area of parkland in the northern area of the Park reopened at the end of July 2013, along with The Copper Box arena. This means sports people, nature enthusiasts as well as those just wanting a green area can go and enjoy the place.

The Copper Box has the huge letters RUN along the front of the building. During the Olympics it was known as the Handball Arena. Now a multi-sport venue open to the public. There is a gym and badminton courts and it is also available for concerts and corporate events.

The main purpose of this blog was when I heard the news on 31 March 2016 that the famous architect Zaha Hadid had died. She was an award wining Iraqi-British architect and had designed the London Aquatics Centre. Her buildings are characterized by strong curving forms and this certainly works well on the flowing features of the aquatics centre.

The aquatics centre contains two Olympic size 50-m pools as well as a diving pool.

Spring equinox and heatwave in Malaysia

Sunday 20 March 2016 is the spring equinox and at the same time there is a heatwave in Malaysia. From The Star,
"Be prepared for a double whammy and steaming hot afternoons for the rest of the month.
The situation will be made all the more unbearable with the equinox , when the sun shines directly over the Equator, and the heatwave caused by the El Nino phenomenon.
The heatwave was expected to continue until the end of the month.

Chuping, Perlis recorded the highest temperature in the country this month at 39°C on Monday and Friday.  The temperature in Petaling Jaya at 5pm Friday 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."

The March vernal equinox is when the sun appears to cross the equator from south to north. The day is roughly the same length as the night.

I escaped from the heat in KL and went to Bali for a few days. The sky was clear and the visibility was so clear. Meanwhile in Klang Valley, Malaysia, the haze was definitely returning, The Star on Monday 21 March "The Education Ministry will announce today whether schools in certain areas of the country will be closed due to the hot weather, even as the haze level continues to rise in the Klang Valley. The ministry was monitoring the hot weather situation and on Saturday, it was found that Kedah and Perlis recorded temperatures as high as 39.2°C."
"Tangau also attributed the haze in the Klang Valley to the dry weather, open burning and local bush fires."

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The heat only lessened in the last week in April when the interseason rains started. April was horribly hazy.

The heat continues in Malaysia

There has been no let up in the heat this month.

Now the government has a committe to discuss the weather.

Bits of interest -

Scorching heat: The Equinox phenomenon, a result of the sun shining directly over the Equator. — Bernama

“The El Nino phenomenon did not just occur this year, it hit us in 1997 and 1998, and it happens from time to time, with varying degrees of intensity.”

“According to the Meteoro-logical Department, a ‘heatwave’ is declared when the temperature of an area is over 35°C for five days in a row, or over 37 °C for three days in a row.

“But the heatwave is only declared at the areas that records the trend, not the whole country.”

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It is quite hazy as well, although the media calls it "ground level ozone"!!!!!!!!!!

Scorching heat, Malaysia, March 2016

It's hot. It's been horribly hot at night. And this is the reason :

The Star, Saturday 12 March 2016

Scorching heat on March 20

Scorching heat is forecast on March 20 due to the equinox phenomenon.
The current hot spell could cause a heatwave if the temperature exceeds 35°C for five straight days, or 37°C for three consecutive days, said Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Wilfred Madius Tangau.

The highest temperature was recorded on Thursday in Alor Setar, and Chuping (Perlis) where it peaked at 38.5°C.

If the rain continued to stay away, then Kedah, Perlis and Penang could record even higher temperatures.

As for the Klang Valley, the nights will be hotter than usual.

The hot and dry weather was projected to ease by the end of the month following the inter-monsoon season where there would be more rain and thunderstorms in the evening.

On another matter, the Depart­ment of the Environment said yesterday that the Air Pollutant Index (API) readings recorded in the Klang Valley was due to ground level ozone and not the PM10 fine dust that is part of a haze.

Ground level ozone is a secondary pollutant formed by chemical reactions triggered by the presence of ultraviolet rays in sunlight.

“The API is based on five parameter pollutants – PM10 (indicator of haze), SO2, NO2, CO and ground level ozone (O3). In the API calculation, the most prominent parameter becomes the API of that particular time or hour,” the DOE said.

“The contributing factor to high ground level ozone is due to high intensity sunlight since the weather now is very hot and dry, resulting from the El Nino.”

Moderate API readings were recorded in Petaling Jaya at 103, Shah Alam (103) and Batu Muda (124) at 2pm yesterday.

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Wednesday, 9 March 2016
Weather expected to return to normal in June

The dry and hot weather due to the El Nino phenomenon is expected to return to normal beginning June.

The strong El Nino level detected between last December and January was found to be dropping and expected to weaken further.

The change of the monsoon in April also expected to reduce the effect of the hot weather with forecasts of rain and thunderstorms in the afternoon.

Although the El Nino will be in neutral condition beginning June, we will experience a dry season during the southwest monsoon from May to Sept­ember.

The strongest El Nino phenomenon that swept the country was in 1997/1998 with a temperature of 40.1 degree Celsius recorded in Chuping, Perlis. — Bernama

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The heat and haze lasted until the 3rd week in April, then the rains started.