The Star 12 Jul 11;
PETALING JAYA: The haze continued to shroud major parts of the country but the condition improved slightly by evening, thanks to stronger winds throughout the day.
Areas with moderate air quality readings of over 80 on the Air Pollutant Index (API) jumped from two at 5pm on Monday to nine at 11am Tuesday. However, this was reduced to six areas at 5pm.
Air quality improved with 76% or 38 areas recording moderate API readings at 5pm compared to 42 areas (82%) at 11am.
(A good reading is from 0-50, moderate 51-100, unhealthy 101-200, very unhealthy 201-299 and hazardous from 300 and above).
The worst-affected area was Bukit Rambai in Malacca which saw its readings hit near unhealthy levels when its API was 93 at 7am but this dropped to 89 at 11am and 81 at 5pm.
Poor visibility and skies chocked with smog were evident earlier in the day with many complaining of a burning smell. However, this improved as winds picked up.
While visibility was back to normal (more than 10km) in most parts, some areas still recorded poor to moderate visibility as of 8pm Tuesday including Butterworth (5km), Ipoh (4km) and Sitiawan, Perak (3km).
Skies were also clearer in the Klang Valley with visibility improving from between 3km and 6km earlier in the day to almost normal levels. Visibility in Petaling Jaya dipped to as low as 2km on Monday.
The Meteorological Department's Central Forecast Office said stronger wind speeds, especially at the upper surface level, caused the haze to disperse slightly yesterday afternoon.
"Wind patterns in peninsular Malaysia had remained consistent from a south-westerly direction.
"The weather should improve today (Wednesday) with rain expected in the evening in areas northward of Kuala Lumpur,” said a spokesman, adding that isolated rain was expected in Johor and Malacca.
According to a regional hazemap, the smoke plumes had shifted slightly away from the peninsula compared with Monday when it was part of the peninsula.
A spokesman from the PLUS Traffic Monitoring Centre said visibility along highways in the Klang Valley and the North South Expressway towards the north was reduced in the morning but improved in the evening although the haze was still present.
The Kuala Lumpur International Airport reported no delayed flights due to the haze while the Subang Airport control tower reported only one delayed flight due to haze and technical problems.
Indonesian news portal Media Indonesia reported Tuesday that the Kota Dumai area in Riau was still blanketed in smog from raging forest fires.
The southwest monsoons, which bring about drier conditions, will continue until September.
Rain to bring relief from haze
The Star 13 Jul 11;
GEORGE TOWN: Rain is expected over the next few days in Penang and that is good news as far as the haze is concerned.
A spokesman from the state Meteorological Department said the showers would help to clear the haze enveloping the state.
“Moreover, the numbers of hotspots has decreased in Indonesia,” he added.
He said visibility levels in the state yesterday improved from 8km at 8am to 9km from 1pm onwards in Bayan Lepas, and from 5km at 8am to 7km from 11am onwards in Butterworth.
A check with the Department of Environment website showed that the Air Pollutant Index (API) reading in Prai was 51 at 7am, increasing to 55 by 5pm.
The API reading in Seberang Jaya was recorded at 58 at 7am and rose to 61 by 5pm.
The reading at Universiti Sains Malaysia also showed a rise from 39 at 7am to 42 by 5pm.
Haze disrupts several flights
Roy See Wei Zhi, Ahmad Fairuz Othman and Jassmine Shadiqe
New Straits Times 12 Jul 11;
JOHOR BARU: The haze played havoc with flights at Sultan Ismail International Airport here yesterday morning when visibility on the runway dropped to a mere 20m.
A combination of haze and high moisture levels was identified as the cause for the low visibility which affected several flights.
Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia and Firefly flights were delayed for almost two hours.
A spokesman for Sultan Ismail International Airport said the overall visibility was about 300m and the Department of Civil Aviation Malaysia had directed the airport to temporarily cease operations.
The first flight from Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang to here, which was scheduled for take-off at 7.30am, was delayed for about two hours.
"Pilots reported that they could not see beyond 20m from the cockpit," said the spokesman.
"The haze lingered on the tarmac for almost two hours before it cleared and flight operations resumed."
Both AirAsia flights AK5442 to the Penang International Airport and AK5271 to the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) were scheduled to take off at 8.40am but were delayed until 10.20am and 10.24am respectively.
Firefly's FY2140 to Subang Airport was also grounded from 8.45am to 9.20am.
MAS flight MH1038, which was scheduled for departure at 8.50am, took off at 10.21am while flight MH1037 from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport to here was delayed for more than an hour.
AirAsia flight AK5443 from Penang landed at Sultan Ismail International Airport at 9.50am instead of 8.15am while flight AK5270 from the LCCT was delayed for almost 11/2 hours.
