Malaysia: Haze in 5 states, schools close

New Straits Times 23 Jul 14;

KUALA LUMPUR: The haze caused a drastic drop in air quality in at least four west coast states yesterday.

It forced the closure of several schools in Perak and prompted
advice for donning of masks outdoors.

The Air Pollutant Index (API) in Perlis, Kedah, Penang, Perak and Selangor ranged from moderate to very unhealthy level, according to the portal of the Department of Environment (DoE).

In Ipoh, Perak education director Mohd Idris Ramli said six primary and nine secondary schools in the Manjung coastal district, with an enrolment of 5,945, were ordered to close their afternoon sessions.

As at 6 pm, the API in Manjung was at the ‘very unhealthy’ level of 260.

An API reading of between zero and 50 indicates good air quality; between 51 and 100, moderate; between 101 and 200, unhealthy; between 201 and 300, very unhealthy, and over 301, hazardous.

Today’s morning session at the schools would be cancelled if the API remained above 200, said Mohd Idris.

He named the affected primary schools as Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Seri Manjung, SK Kampung Dato Seri Kamarudin, SK Methodist (ACS), SK Methodist, SK Convent and SK Simpang Empat.

The secondary schools are Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan
(SMK) Seri Manjung, SMK Ahmad Boestamam, SMK Seri Samudera, SMK Nan Hwa, SMK Methodist,
SMK Methodist (ACS), SMK Tok Perdana, SMK Ambrose and SMK Dato Idris.

The API for Kampung Air Putih in Taiping was 131 and SK Jalan Pegoh in Ipoh was at 117 at 6pm.

In George Town, the API at an unhealthy level was recorded in several areas, according to Agriculture, Agro-based Industry, Rural Development and Health Committee chairman Dr Afif Bahardin.

He said the API in Prai reached 102, Seberang Jaya, 114 and Universiti Sains Malaysia was at 101 at noon.

“The people are advised to wear masks when outdoors and reduce any activity that can expose them to
the unhealthy air,” he said in a statement.

He also advised road users to take extra precautions when driving through hazy areas.

In Selangor, the DoE portal reported the API for Kuala Selangor and Port Klang at 119 and 111, respectively, at 6pm.

In Kedah, the API reading for Bakar Arang, Sungai Petani, was 100 at 6pm.

In Perlis, the reading in Kangar was 72 at 6pm. Bernama

Haze: Unhealthy level in southern Kedah
ZAHRATULHAYAT MAT ARIF New Straits Times 22 Jul 14;

ALOR STAR: Southern Kedah is blanketed by haze as the Air Pollutant index (API) in Sungai Petani and Bakar Arang hit the unhealthy level of 111 as of 9am today.

Alor Star and Langkawi recorded API of 96 and 59 respectively as of 9am, while in Kangar, Perlis the API was recorded at 78, according to the Department of Environment (DOE).

The air pollution level is categorised as good from zero to 50, moderate (51-100), unhealthy (101 to 200), very unhealthy (201-300) and hazardous (301 and more).

Haze: All schools in Manjung district closed after API recorded very unhealthy
SYLVIA LOOI New Straits Times 22 Jul 14;

MANJUNG: All 102 schools in the district have been ordered closed after the Air Pollutant Index (API) here recorded very unhealthy level.

A source said students in the morning session were allowed to return home at 11am while all schooling for the afternoon session had been cancelled.

A senior assistant of a secondary school in Pangkor confirmed the state Education Department had instructed all schools in the state to close.

A check on the Department of Environment website showed as of noon, Seri Manjung recorded 239 API, the highest in the country.

Haze: Perak recorded unhealthy API
SYLVIA LOOI New Straits Times 22 Jul 14;

IPOH: Perakians woke up to haze shrouded day with Taiping, Ipoh, Seri Manjung and Tanjung Malim recording unhealthy Air Pollutant Index (API) readings.

At 6am, the API readings in all areas hovered between 101 and 195.

An hour later, the readings rise to between 104 and 199.

Seri Manjung recorded the worst API when its readings spike up to 208 at 8am.

A check on the Department of Environment website found the API readings in Seri Manjung also increased to 215 at 9am.

Haze: 15 schools in Manjung district ordered to close
CHAN LI LEEN The Star 21 Jul 14;

IPOH: Fifteen primary and secondary schools in the Manjung district were ordered to close for the afternoon session on Tuesday after air quality remained at very unhealthy levels.

State Education Department director Mohd Idris Ramli said the schools would remain close Wednesday morning if the Air Pollutant Index (API) in the district did not improve.

“A total of 5,945 children from six primary and nine secondary schools were affected by the closure,” said Mohd Idris.

The affected schools were SK Seri Manjung, SK Kampung Dato Seri Kamarudin, SK Methodist (ACS), SK Methodist, SK Convent, SK Simpang Empat, SMK Seri Manjung, SMK Ahmad Boestamam, SMK Seri Samudera, SMK Nan Hwa, SMK Methodist, SMK Methodist (ACS), SMK Tok Perdana, SMK Ambrose and SMK Dato Idris.

A check on the Department of Environment website showed the API reading of the coastal town to be 208 at 8am and had increased to 250 at 2pm.

API readings for the rest of Perak remained at unhealthy levels.

An API reading of between 0 and 50 is considered good; 51 to 100, moderate; 101 to 200, unhealthy; 201 to 300, very unhealthy; and 301 and above, hazardous.

Selangor dam levels still dropping
LOSHANA K SHAGAR The Star 23 Jul 14;

PETALING JAYA: Dam levels in Selangor are continuing to drop in the face of prolonged hot and dry weather, raising the prospects of authorities having to enforce stringent water conservation efforts.

Association of Water and Energy Research Malaysia (Awer) president S. Piarapakaran said there was a de­­finite risk of water supply tightening for consumers in Selangor.

“If the dry weather continues and the projected inter-monsoon in September and October is affected, we would be heading for a more severe situation compared to the water crisis we had earlier this year.

“Cloud seeding is not necessarily a reliable method. There is no point seeding clouds with chemicals when there are no clouds to begin with,” he said.

As of yesterday, the Sungai Se­­langor dam, which supplies water to more than 60% of households in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putra­jaya, was at 37.02%, way below the acceptable level of 40%.

Hazy days are also making a comeback, with Seri Manjung in Perak reaching very unhealthy mark on the Air Pollutant Index (API) with a reading of 250, forcing the closure of 15 schools.

The six primary and nine secon­dary schools, with a total enrolment of 5,945, were ordered to close their afternoon sessions, said Perak education director Mohd Idris Ramli.

This morning’s session would also be cancelled if the index remained above 200, reported Ber­nama.

The primary schools affected were SK Seri Manjung, SK Kampung Dato Seri Kamarudin, SK Methodist (ACS), SK Methodist, SK Convent and SK Simpang Empat. The secon­dary schools were SMK Seri Manjung, SMK Ahmad Boestamam, SMK Seri Samudera, SMK Nan Hwa, SMK Methodist, SMK Methodist (ACS), SMK Tok Perdana, SMK Ambrose and SMK Dato Idris.

Tanjung Malim, Taiping and parts of Ipoh were also affected by the haze, with unhealthy API readings ranging between 114 and 121, while Kuala Selangor and Port Klang recorded 130 and 117 respectively.

An API reading of between zero and 50 indicates good air quality; between 51 and 100, moderate; between 101 and 200, unhealthy; between 201 and 300, very unhealthy and over 301, hazar­dous.