Malaysia: Aircraft on constant standby for cloud seeding

The Star 7 Mar 14;

KUALA LUMPUR: An aircraft is on constant standby to initiate cloud seeding once suitable clouds emerge around water catchment areas, said Deputy Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Dr Abu Bakar Mohamad Diah.

“We will continue with the cloud seeding and are ever ready to do it.The Charlie C130 aircraft has been loaded with four cubic metres of salt solution and is ready to take off anytime. Each cubic metre of water contains 150kg of salt in it,” he said after launching the Magic Zlate 11, a locally made Ultrabook performance mobile tablet at Courts Megastore in Bandar Sri Damansara yesterday.

Abu Bakar explained that the commencement of cloud seeding depended of the presence of towering cumulus clouds as this type of cloud formation held potential for substantial rain.

“We will carry out cloud seeding if the chance of rain is 80%. Otherwise, it would be a waste as each operation costs RM80,000,” said Abu Bakar, who added that the operation was being conducted together with the Royal Malaysian Air Force.

On the Magic Zlate 11, which is a notebook computer with detachable keyboard, Abu Bakar said it was the first of the 60 local research and development products to be commercialised this year under the Mosti Commercialisation Year 2014.

Abu Bakar said the global product was developed by a local company which received a RM145mil grant via the ministry’s Technofund programme. Courts Malaysia Sdn Bhd country chief executive officer Allard Sjol­lema said they were proud to host the launch and feature the local product in their stores.

Met Dept to carry out more cloud seeding
BALQIS NASIR AND PHUAH KEN LIN New Straits Times 7 Mar 14;

CONSECUTIVE DAYS: Starting Sunday, they will be conducted at water catchment areas

KUALA LUMPUR: THE Malaysian Meteorological Department (MMD) plans to carry out eight consecutive days of cloud seeding beginning Sunday.

Its Atmospheric Science and Cloud Seeding Division director Azhar Ishak said the third phase of cloud seeding would be carried out everyday and would focus on water catchment areas in the peninsula.

"Our aim is to increase water levels at the catchment areas and we will try to induce heavy rain there," he said, adding that the success of the operation would, however, depend on the availability of suitable clouds.

Azhar said the dept would also identify haze-affected areas as its cloud seeding targets, especially those that recorded unhealthy Air Pollutant Index (API) readings.

MMD commercial and corporate services director Dr Mohd Hisham Mohd Anip said the API readings in Muar reached unhealthy level at 5pm yesterday.

He said the haze was caused by wind from the northeast that dispersed dust particles in southern states.

"There was a massive increase of API readings in Muar as wind of up to 20 knots has been blowing from the northeast to the south," he said, adding that such strong wind condition would help disperse the haze.

Unhealthy API readings were also recorded in Port Klang, Petaling Jaya and Shah Alam yesterday.

Meanwhile, in a related development, the dry spell saw a spike in the number of peat fires yesterday with 528 reported compared with 417 on Tuesday and 345 on Wednesday.

Fire and Rescue Department senior officer Yusri Basri said the increase was because no cloud seeding was carried out yesterday.

"The decreased number on Tuesday and Wednesday showed that the cloud seeding operations were successful in reducing the number of peat fires in Selangor, Negri Sembilan and Malacca," he said, adding that the number of such fires was expected to grow as the hot and dry spell would continue until the end of the month.

Yusri said while some of the peat fires were caused by indiscriminate throwing of cigarette butts, most were sparked by natural causes because of the dry and hot weather.

In George Town, bush fires continued to rage across Penang yesterday as firemen had their hands full trying to contain the situation.

On the island near the Air Itam Dam, firemen toiled to extinguish embers at a number of spots, mostly in hilly areas.

A check by the New Straits Times at the dam showed firemen, equipped with waterbags and jetshooters, canvassing the slope to tackle bush fires that had broken out there.

On the mainland, white smoke was visible at the hills in Cherok To' Kun in Bukit Mertajam, in open spots such as cemeteries in Seberang Jaya, Bukit Tengah and near a factory in Butterworth.

State Fire and Rescue Department operations chief Azrinnoor Ahmad said the department received numerous distress calls on bush fires throughout the day yesterday.

Penang Fire and Rescue Department using a helicopter to transport men to the site of lower enable its 12-member Multi-skill team members to fight the forest fire in Bukit Bendera yesterday. Pic by Muhammad Mikail Ong

Poor air quality in Muar
The Star 6 Mar 14;

KUALA LUMPUR: Poor air quality is recorded in Muar, Johor with the Air Pollutant Index (API) recorded at unhealthy level at 113 as 8am on Thursday.

According to the Department of Environment (DOE) website, 23 areas recorded good API readings while 27 at moderate level.

Among areas having good API readings were Labuan (39), Paka, Terengganu (26), Tanjung Malim, Perak (48), Kota Tinggi and Larkin Lama, Johor (28 and 39 respectively).

Moderate API readings were registered in, among others, Batu Muda and Cheras, Kuala Lumpur (59 and 54 respectively), Putrajaya (68), Shah Alam (58), Banting (53), Sibu, Sarawak (53), and Bakar Arang, Sungai Petani, Kedah (69).

API readings of between 0 and 50 are categorised as good, 51 to 100 (moderate), 101 to 200 (unhealthy), 201 to 300 (very unhealthy) and 300 and above (dangerous).
The public can refer to the DOE's portal apims.doe.gov.my to obtain API readings in their respective areas. - Bernama

Brace for dearer greens, say farmers
The Star 7 Mar 14;

PETALING JAYA: Farmers in Cameron Highlands are indicating that there may be an increase in the prices of vegetables grown there on account of the dry season.

Cameron Highlands Vegetable Growers Association secretary Chay Ee Mong said the increase was due to the shortage in supply of (lowland) greens from Johor and Malacca.

“Therefore, prices of vegetables may rise steadily this month due to the shortage and demand from other states,” he said, adding that the situation was compounded by a reduction in vegetable imports from China.

He claimed that vegetable supply from Cameron Highlands could be diverted to meet the demand in Johor and Malacca, where the produce was also exported to Singa­pore.

Meanwhile, Johor Fama director Faridulatrash Md Mokri said that even if there were an increase in the prices of greens in the state, it would only be between 20 and 30 sen.

“For instance, fresh red chillies are still selling at RM11 or RM12 per kg,” he said.

Nonetheless, he confirmed that the price of tomatoes had increased recently from RM4.80 to RM5 per kg at farmers’ markets because of reduced supply, especially from Cameron Highlands.