Malaysia: Cross Border Haze To Decline By Mid October

Bernama 11 Oct 14;

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 11 (Bernama) - Cross border haze is expected to decline with the change of the Monsoon season in the middle of October.

Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Datuk Seri G. Palanivel said the Northeast Monsoon will bring wet weather and change in the wind direction.

The decline in the air quality in several areas in Penang yesterday was caused by cross border haze from Sumatra, Indonesia.

"This is because Southwest Monsoon winds are blowing to the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia," he said in a statement Saturday.

Palanivel said the Department of Environment director-general had written a note to her Indonesian counterpart about the increased number of hotspots in Sumatra and Kalimantan.

"Malaysia has urged Indonesian authorities to immediately put out forest fires and undertake preventive measures."

He reminded the public to refrain from open burning and prevent others from entering their land to commit open burning.

-- BERNAMA

14 hotspots detected in South Kalimantan
The Star 11 Oct 14;

Kalimantan: Fourteen hotspots were detected in several sub-districts in Balangan District, South Kalimantan, a local official said here Friday.

"Based on the monitoring, the hotspots in Balangan were found in agricultural areas, plantations and many small spots in forest regions," Indonesia's Antara news agency quoted Haryono, the head of Balangan forestry and plantation office, as saying.

Eight provinces across Indonesia: Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, North Sumatra, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, South Kalimantan and East Kalimantan, were on emergency alert due to forest and plantation fires.

The National Meteorological, Climatology and Geophysics Agency predicted that the dry season in Indonesia will last until January 2015.

To extinguish forest and plantation fires, the National Agency for Disaster Management (BNPB) will conduct cloud seeding operations to create artificial rain, BNPB spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said recently.

He explained that the BNPB coordinated with the Agency for Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT), which will continue with their artificial rain operations throughout October.

Meanwhile, Indonesian Health Minister Nafsiah Mboi urged the public to protect themselves from the smoke caused by forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan.
"The smoke causes pollution and also affects the breathing and vision of the people," Mboi said. -Bernama

Unhealthy API levels recorded in Penang
crystal chiam shiying The Star 11 Oct 14;

Several areas in Penang continue to be enveloped by the Haze. The Star/Lim Beng Tatt

Several areas in Penang continue to be enveloped by the Haze. The Star/Lim Beng Tatt

GEORGE TOWN: Several locations in Penang continued to record unhealthy air pollutant index (API) levels on Saturday.

According to the API readings available on the Department of Environment (DOE) website, Penang was the only state that recorded unhealthy levels.

As of 11am the Seberang Jaya 2 and USM stations recorded readings of 107 and 106 respectively. The Prai station recorded a moderate reading of 92 as of 11am.

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 API is calculated based on five major air pollutants, namely Sulphur Dioxide (SO2), Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), Ground Level Ozone (O3), Carbon Monoxide (CO) and particulate matter with a diameter below 10 micrometers (PM10).

The concentrations of these five pollutants are measured in 52 automatic air quality stations throughout Malaysia, mainly located in industrial and urban areas

Penang haze back to moderate levels after rain
chong kah yuan The Star 11 Oct 14;

GEORGE TOWN: Intermittent rain in the later part of Saturday provided temporary respite to the hazy skies.

The showers - at about 1.45pm for an hour and again at about 7.30pm - was enough to wash away the haze which recorded an API reading of 107 in the Seberang Jaya 2 and 106 at USM stations in the morning.

The Prai station recorded a moderate reading of 92 as of 11am.

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).

At 7pm, the API for Prai, Seberang Jaya 2 and USM was at 76, 89 and 88 respectively.

The Fire and Rescue Department said no flood and accidents was reported.

The weather forecast for the week is for a fair weather on Sunday, isolated rain on Monday and Tuesday followed by isolated thunderstorms until Friday.