Bernama 24 Jul 14;
KUALA LUMPUR, July 24 (Bernama) -- The haze over certain areas in the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and Klang Valley as a result of open burning activities in Central Sumatra, Indonesia is expected to persist until September, according to the Natural Resources and Environment (NRE) Ministry.
"The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellite imagery map released by the Asean Specialised Meteorological Center (ASMC) yesterday showed moderate smoke haze swirling from the Riau province in Central Sumatra towards the central and northern part of the peninsula," it said in a statement today.
The statement said NOAA detected 42 hotspots in Sumatra, eight in Sarawak, three in Pahang and one in Selangor.
A total of 4,400 open burning cases, of which 1,435 involved agricultural land and 897, forests, were detected in the first seven months of this year.
Based on investigations conducted by the ministry, 1,011 cases involved bush fires, construction sites (136), garbage dumping sites (70), industrial areas (34) and small fires (817), said the statement.
-- BERNAMA
Haze: No area with unhealthy air
New Straits Times 25 Jul 14;
KUALA LUMPUR: The air quality in the country has improved with no area recording unhealthy Air Pollutant Index (API) reading as at 8 am today.
According to the Department of Environment (DOE), 39 areas recorded moderate API readings, including Seri Manjung, Perak (76), Port Klang, Selangor (89) Tanah Merah, Kelantan (57), Muar, Johor (59) and Kuching, Sarawak (52).
Eleven areas recorded good air quality.
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. The public can refer to http://www.doe.gov.my for updates on API readings - BERNAMA
Haze clearing up in all states
EUNICE HO New Straits Times 25 Jul 14;
KUALA LUMPUR: Thursday appeared to be a good day for Malaysians as API readings proved that the haze was clearing up.
It was earlier reported that all states in the country recorded good and moderate Air Pollutant Index (API) reading except for Seberang Jaya 2 in Perai which recorded a 101 API reading at 10am yesterday.
The air quality in Seberang Jaya 2 improved and reached moderate levels (100) at 12pm.
The last API reading at 3pm was 98.
The other regions in the country continued to experience haze-free air with most of them recording API between 55 and 80.
Taiping and Ipoh, which both recorded unhealthy API levels on Wednesday, continued to record moderate API readings.
At press time, the last reading at 3pm were 88 for Taiping and 68 for Ipoh.
The API reading for Taiping at 6am yesterday was 94 whereas the reading for Ipoh was 74.
Both towns had a 6-point drop at 3pm from their 6am readings.
When asked if the haze will continue, DOE’s Director of Air Division Kalsom Abd Ghani said that as API reading was determined based on 24 hours average, they would need to monitor the situation for the next 24 hours ahead any concrete conclusion could be made on the situation.
Kalsom mentioned that another crucial factor that affected the severity of haze was the hotspots in the source country.
“If the forest fires are persistent, the haze might be prolonged,” she said.
The public can visit the DOE’s web site at http://www.doe.gov.my for hourly updates on API readings.
Hot and dry days for next two months
The Star 25 Jul 14;
PETALING JAYA: There will be hot and dry days over the next two months, with limited rainfall across the country till September.
The meteorological department says the isolated rainfall in certain parts of the country now was no indication of milder weather to come.
A department spokesman said the hot dry spell was due to the south-west monsoon winds which began in the middle of May, indicating drier weather than normal with less rainfall and cloud formation.
“We expect the hot and dry weather to continue with limited isolated rain across the country,” he said.
On the El Nino phenomenon – the prolonged warming of surface temperatures that happens over the eastern Pacific Ocean every two to seven years for six months – the department had yet to establish that it had started, but noted many prediction centres around the world expected it to develop within the next few months.
Meanwhile, the Department of Environment portal showed 11 areas with good quality readings while 41 areas recorded moderate readings as at 4pm yesterday.
An Air Pollutant Index (API) of up to 50 is considered good; 51 to 100, moderate; 101 to 200, unhealthy; 201 to 300, very unhealthy; and 301 and above hazardous.
Bakar Arang and Sungai Petani in Kedah had the highest API reading of 99, followed by Seberang Jaya 2 and Prai in Penang, which recorded an API of 98.
Various areas in the Klang Valley recorded moderate API readings from 53 (Putrajaya) to 66 (Kuala Lumpur).
