Letters - Not quite weather science

I WAS most dismayed to read "March 20 expected to be extremely hot" (News, March 14).
The article links the vernal equinox with a Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation statement warning against El Nino-related hot and dry weather.
The equinox bears little relation to the exact date of heat maxima. The sun isn't necessarily overhead during the equinox, but reaches its zenith on March 28 in Kuala Lumpur. Nor are daylight hours longest, though due to relatively clear skies Kuala Lumpur tends to get more sunlight in March.
A quick search of historical KL temperature data shows a random distribution of the hottest March dates (March 7, 2011, March 16, 2012, March 1, 2015, March 5, 2014 and March 26, 2015).
The general decline of science awareness and reporting in Malaysia concerns me. After all, this article comes less than a week after an absurd story in another daily that promotes the blatant anti-science that eggs can stand on their ends because of increased gravity during solar eclipses.
Stefan Mrozewski
Kuala Lumpur