Hot in Malaysia

Temperatures may go up by 3˚C with El Nino phenomenon
Yeng Ai Chun, The Star 10 Jun 09;

GENTING HIGHLANDS: Brace yourself for hotter days. The El Nino phenomenon is coming.

And with warmer weather, the Government warns that the haze will worsen.

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas said the Meteorological Department has reported the El Nino phenomenon.

“However, its full effect can only be gauged sometime in August,” he said.

El Nino is a climatic condition where abnormal warming of the Pacific Ocean causes dry weather in South-East Asia and northern Australia.

Uggah was speaking to reporters after launching the Genting Goes Green programme at First World Plaza, Genting Highlands Resort yesterday.

Malaysia experiences a hot and dry season in June, July and August with temperatures ranging between 33 °C to 34 °C. However, with the El Nino phenomenon, temperatures can rise by an additional 3 °C.

Uggah said with such hot and dry conditions, any open burning activity could make things worse.

He said the Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre satellite report had identified 125 hot spots in the country from May 25 to June 7.

The report also showed an increase of hot spots in Sumatra and Kalimantan with 996 and 108 hot spots respectively.

Uggah said the Air Pollution Index for various locations in the country had deteriorated slightly.

“This has caused it to be slightly hazy. The hazy situation happened because of a stable atmosphere with a high humidity level of above 85%.

“This causes pollutants like dust and emissions from vehicles and factories to be collected in the air, causing poor visibility,” he said.

At 5pm yesterday, 57% of measuring stations around the country recorded “moderate” readings while the remaining stations recorded “good” readings.

Cheras in Kuala Lumpur had the worst API reading with 96 while Port Klang recorded a reading of 87.

As preventive measures, Uggah said the ministry had increased monitoring via daily aerial surveillance with co-operation from the police air unit and private airline companies.

“Emphasis is given to areas that are prone to fires such as Selangor, Pahang and Johor, especially peat swamps and garbage landfills,” he said.

Back to hazy skies in Malaysia
Koi Kye Lee, New Straits Times 10 Jun 09;

GENTING HIGHLANDS: The haze is back.

And the situation is serious enough to have prompted the National Haze Central Committee to meet on Monday and instruct all relevant agencies to prepare to deal with the deteriorating air quality.

The Air Pollutant Index across the country has registered readings of between 51 and 100, which the Meteorological Department deems "moderate".

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Douglas Unggah Embas warned yesterday of hotter and drier weather in the country as a result of the El Nino phenomenon.

"However, the Meteorological Department says the strength of El Nino will only be known in August," he said at a press conference after launching the Genting Goes Green programme in conjunction with World Environment Day.
Yesterday, moderate API readings were registered in 26 areas at 11am, and in 27 areas at 5pm. Areas with the highest API readings within the "moderate band" were Cheras (96), Pelabuhan Kelang (87), Shah Alam (80) and Tanjung Malim (78).

The Meteorological Department had reported on Monday that visibility in several areas around Prai, Bayan Lepas, Subang, Petaling Jaya, Malacca and Kuantan had been reduced to between 6km and 9km.

Douglas said a satellite report obtained from the Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre showed 125 hotspots in Malaysia detected between May 25 and June 7.

The report also showed 996 hotspots in Sumatra and 108 in Kalimantan.

The minister said the public should play its role and not worsen the situation by open burning. If caught, they could be fined or have legal action taken against them, he added.

At the launch, he said the government had set up a cabinet committee on climate change chaired by the prime minister.

"We are in the process of formulating a climate change policy.

"Mitigation and adaptation measures are being taken to reduce the impact of climate change and one major area of focus is to reduce carbon emissions into the atmosphere."

Ministry, DOE To Monitor Haze Condition With Help From Relevant Agencies
Bernama 9 Jun 09;

KUALA LUMPUR, June 9 (Bernama) -- The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment hopes to be ready for any eventualities, including the haze, in view of the expected dry spell from June to September, with the help of relevant government agencies.

According to a statement from the ministry, the National Haze Committee that was formed and the relevant agencies have been directed to prepare for any eventualities.

The agencies will work with the police, Road Transport Department, Department of Agriculture, RELA and the Fire and Rescue Department.

Apart from these agencies and department's the ministry would also seek the cooperation of commercial airlines like Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and Air Asia to report on open burning.

The statement added that a pilot project had also been initiated between Malaysia and Indonesia with the expertise of the Global Environment Centre to ensure sustainable management of peat to reduce the risk of peat fire in Rokan Hilir and Riau in Indonesia.

The statement added that in many parts of the country, the quality of air had dropped while the Air Pollution Index (API) recorded was between 51 and 100, causing slight hazy conditions.

According to the Meteorological Department of Malaysia yesterday, Prai, Bayan Lepas (Penang), Subang, Petaling Jaya (Selangor), Melaka and Kuantan (Pahang), had experienced a drop in visibility (between 6km and 9km).

The Department Of Environment (DOE) would continue to monitor the situation and API throughout the country said the statement.

The ministry advised the public to refrain from any open burning activities and urged those who came across small fires or open burning, to report immediately to the Fire and Rescue Department at 03-88880036 or the DOE at 1-800-88-2727.

In the past 10 years, fires have burnt over 2 million hectares of peatlands in Indonesia and peatland fires were responsible for the majority of haze which regularly engulfed Malaysia.-- BERNAMA