The Star 12 Sep 15;
KUALA LUMPUR: Eighteen areas in several states in the peninsula and Sarawak recorded unhealthy air pollutant index (API) readings as at 9am Saturday.
Besides Sarawak, the affected areas were Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Malacca, Negri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak and Selangor, stated the Department of Environment (DOE) in its website.
Batu Muda, Kuala Lumpur recorded the highest API reading of 162, followed by Port Klang (161), Samarahan (158), Shah Alam (157), Petaling Jaya (148), Kuala Selangor (147), Kuching (142) and Nilai (141).
Other areas were Sri Aman (136), Banting (134), 132 in Seremban, Cheras and Putrajaya, Jerantut (120), Bukit Rambai (108), Seri Manjung (107), Port Dickson (106) and Bandaraya Melaka (101).
An API reading of between 0 and 50 is categorised as good; 51 to 100, moderate; 101 to 200, unhealthy; 201 to 300, very unhealthy; and 300 and above, hazardous.
The public can access http://apims.doe.gov.my, for updates. - Bernama
Haze condition improves in Sarawak
SHARON LING The Star 12 Sep 15;
KUCHING: The haze situation in Sarawak improved slightly overnight although three areas continue to experience an unhealthy air quality level.
The Air Pollutant Index (API) dropped to 127 in Kuching, 145 in Samarahan and 121 in Sri Aman at noon on Saturday, compared to the highest readings of 167, 184 and 177 respectively on Friday afternoon.
In Kapit, Sarikei and Sibu, the API was 68, 85 and 76 respectively while Limbang and Miri had good air quality with the API at 35 and 49.
A reading of 100-200 indicates unhealthy air quality, 201-300 very unhealthy and 301 and above hazardous. Anything below 50 is good air quality and 51-100 moderate.
Visibility in Kuching also improved to 1.4km at noon on Saturday from under a kilometre on Friday.
Meanwhile the Sarawak Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) has postponed its Animazing Race to Oct 25 because of the hazy conditions.
It was originally scheduled for this Sunday.
SSPCA president Dona Wee said the postponement took into account concern for the safety and health of the runners and those involved in the event as well as directives from the authorities.
"We had been advised to postpone the race due to the unhealthy air quality which is dangerous to health.
"The current hazy condition is also making visibility limited and this will pose a danger to participatings running along the route in the early morning," she said.
Apologising to those who had registered for the race, Wee added that SSPCA had to take heed of the directives for the safety and health of the runners.
Two flights to Sibu delayed due to thick haze
ESTHER LANDAU New Straits Times 12 Sep 15;
KUCHING: Two MASwings flights scheduled to depart to Sibu from Kuching International Airport (KIA) have been affected by the haze as of 10am.
Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd KIA senior manager Mohd Nadzim Hashim said the ground visibility in Kuching was about 2,400 metres.
“The two MASwings flights were delayed and both involving departures, which affecting some 100 passengers.
“No cancellations so far.
Other flights operation in and out of the KIA went on smoothly as scheduled,” he said in a statement.
As of 11am, the Air Pollutant Index (API) at three divisions, namely Kuching, Samarahan and Sri Aman remained at an unhealthy level.
However, according to the Department of Environment (DOE) website today shows that there is a slight improvement in the API reading for Samarahan with 151 compared to 176 yesterday.
Followed by Kuching with 132 compared to 167 and Sri Aman reads 126 compared to 163.
Haze until end of the month
LOH FOON FONG The Star 12 Sep 15;
PETALING JAYA: The haze is expected to continue until the end of this month and the Meteorological Department will carry out cloud seeding if the Air Pollutant Index (API) goes beyond 100 for three consecutive days.
Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Madius Tangau said yesterday that the department, together with the air force, would conduct cloud seeding if the atmosphere and cloud situation were suitable.
“The increase in the number of hotspots in Sumatra and Kalimantan and the hot and dry season over the last few days had resulted in the severe haze in Sarawak and several states in the peninsula,” Madius said in a statement.
The department has also issued poor visibility warning for ships travelling in the Strait of Malacca, Sarawak, Labuan and the west coast of Sabah.
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said the dry and haze season was expected to end with the start of the inter-monsoon season in October.
As of 11am yesterday, 17 areas had unhealthy air quality readings.
Among the worst were Port Klang which recorded an API of 164; Batu Muda, Kuala Lumpur (157); Shah Alam (156); and Kuala Selangor (151).
LKIM: There’s enough fish supply
The Star 13 Sep 15;
KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Fisheries Development Authority (LKIM) has assured that there will be enough supply of fish despite visibility difficulties faced by fishermen due to the haze.
LKIM chairman Datuk Irmohizam Ibrahim said there were 100 tonnes of fish stock on standby.
“The drop in supply is not critical yet, but we have made a request with the National Fishermen’s Association to release 100 tonnes of fish stock if needed,” he said after the 36th General Assembly of the Asean Inter-Parliamentary Assembly closing ceremony on Friday.
Irmohizam said if there was a lack of supply in the market, the association would release the stock to ensure prices were stable and supply was adequate.
“We are also concerned about the safety of fishermen at this time,” he added.
He said fish stock were fish caught and kept in cold storage for the purpose of food security and 100 tonnes of fish could last two to three months.
