Malaysia: Hotspots in Sumatra doubles, public advised not to stay out for long

Cavina Lim The Star 19 Jun 12;

THE public has been advised to stay indoors with the Air Pollutant Index (API) in George Town hitting the ‘unhealthy’ category at 101.

State Health, Welfare, Caring Society and Environmental Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh said the public should also keep themselves hydrated and seek medical treatment should they suffer from eye irritation as a result of the ‘unhealthy’ air situation.

“The API level in the state has gone above 100, which is unhealthy.

“The public should not stay outdoors too long and they should drink more water,” he said.

He added due to the worsening haze situation here, the state government will distribute face masks to schoolchildren in the primary schools here today.

“The assemblymen will distribute the masks either through the Village Security and Development Committees or the Parent-Teacher Associations.

“We may also distribute masks to the public,” he said.

Phee said the northwest monsoon wind was bringing the haze from Indonesia to peninsular Malaysia.

It was reported yesterday that the Department of Environment found that the recorded pollution in the air was made of particulate matter, also known as PM10.

At 7am yesterday, the API reading recorded in Seberang Jaya was 98 and at 11am, the reading hit the ‘unhealthy’ category at 101. (The ‘unhealthy’ category begins at an API reading of 101).

The reading eventually dropped to 96 at 5pm.

In Prai, the API status recorded 85 at 7am and increased four points at 11am. At 5pm, the API reading returned to 85.

Over on the island, the haze had slightly improved with the reading recorded at 85 at 7am and later dropping to 79 at 5pm.

A check with the Malaysian Meteorological Department showed that visibility which started at 3km (8am to 3pm) on the mainland improved to 4km at 4pm and later became 5km from 5pm to 6pm.

Visibility in Bayan Lepas also improved when it was at 4km (8am to noon), then improved to 5km (1pm to 2pm) and finally to 6km at 3pm.

However, visibility dropped slightly to 5km from 4pm to 6pm.

The total number of hotspots had increased to 310 in Sumatra as recorded by the NOAA-18 satellite as of 4.05pm yesterday, compared to 163 hotspots as of 4.14pm on Sunday June 17.

Meanwhile, Penang International Airport senior airport manager Mohd Arif Jaafar said there were no cancellation of flights due to the haze.

Air quality improves despite hazy skies
The Star 20 Jun 12;

KUALA LUMPUR: Despite hazy skies, moderate air quality was recorded in most places nationwide, said the Department of Environment (DOE).

It said the Air Pollution Index (API) at 46 of 50 stations nationwide recorded moderate air quality while the remaining four registered good air quality as at 5pm yesterday.

The haze is still present in northern and central Sumatra coastline, the Malacca Straits and the west coast of northern states of peninsula Malaysia.

DOE said the major cause of the drop in air quality was the drifting haze from Sumatra.

Satellite images released by the Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre showed hot spots in Sumatra had risen to 310 from 163 the previous day.

DOE has activated the National Haze Action Plan and the Open Burning Prevention Action Plan in all states as well as implementing its Standard Operating Procedures in monitoring the air quality nationwide.

Open burning has been banned in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putra­jaya.

Members of the public are urged to report bush fire and open burning to the Fire and Rescue Department at 999 or DOE at 1-800-88-2727. — Bernama


Thai South Affected By Indonesia's Haze
Bernama 19 Jun 12;

BANGKOK, June 19 (Bernama) -- Thailand's Southern Meteorological Centre (East Coast) in Songkhla province reported on Monday that the southwest monsoon covering the southern Thai region currently could bring with it haze from annual forest fires on the Sumatra Island in Indonesia.

The centre's director Wanchai Sakudomchai, told journalists that satellite images showed there were some 163 hot spots on the Sumatra Island and the prevailing southwest monsoon wind appeared to have brought the smog to several southern Thai areas.

Songkhla, for instance, has been covered by thick haze in early morning over the past days, before gradually fading a few hours later, Thai News Agency (TNA) reported.

Wanchai said he has instructed local officials to closely monitor satellite updates and timely warn people in areas at risk of possible impacts from either more hot spots in Indonesia or stronger southwest monsoon wind.

-- BERNAMA