The Star 27 Sep 15;
KOTA KINABALU: Air quality in the city deteriorated, with visibility reduced to about 3km on Saturday as many parts of the state were shrouded by the haze again.
After several days of clear skies, hazy conditions prevailed in many districts, with northern Kudat and Tawau in the east coast reporting visibility of 4km.
Sabah Meteorological Services Department director Abdul Malik Tussin said visibility in Labuan was also reduced to 4km yesterday.
He said the hazy conditions were due to the prevailing south-westerly winds that were blowing in smoke and and airborne particulates from hotspots in Kalimantan.
The haze in Sabah is expected to persist for another two days.
“It will clear after a rainy spell which we are expecting over the next few days,” said Abdul Malik.
He added that afternoon showers were also anticipated over parts of Sabah’s west coast, east coast districts and in the interior.
Dujuan causes wind to come from south, bringing the haze along
ZAFIRA ANWAR New Straits Times 26 Sep 15;
KUALA LUMPUR: The thick haze blanketing Peninsular Malaysia is a result of the change of wind direction caused by the Dujuan tropical storm.
Malaysia Meteorological Department officer Ambun Dindang said the formation of the tropical storm, located northeast of Luzon Island in the Philippines, has caused the wind to come from the south.
"Right now, the winds are blowing from the Sumatera Islands towards Malaysia. "The winds aren't that strong, between 9.3 kph to 18.5 kph but it is the direction of it, continuously blowing from the south that's bringing the haze from Sumatera and Kalimantan to our country," he told the New Straits Times when contacted.
Ambun said tropical storm was expected to make a landfall in China on Sept 29, which would alter the wind blow direction.
"The current wind blow direction would last until month-end. Once the storm dissipates, the wind direction would, as well," he added.
API readings worsen throughout Malaysia
The Star 27 Sep 15;
PETALING JAYA: People choked as the air quality in the Klang Valley, Malacca, Negri Sembilan and parts of Sarawak deteriorated.
Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and nearly all of Selangor were covered in thick haze, with a rapid rise in Air Pollutant Index (API) readings.
In Kuantan, the air quality also remained at an unhealthy level.
In Petaling Jaya, the API doubled from 61 at noon to 123 at 7pm, while in Shah Alam it rose from 62 to 128 over the same period.
A reading of 100 to 200 indicates unhealthy air quality, while 201 to 300 is very unhealthy and above 300 hazardous. A reading of 51 to 100 is moderate.
Other areas with unhealthy air quality as at 7pm yesterday were Putrajaya (121); Cheras (110); Kemaman (119); Port Klang (125); Banting (119); Sri Aman (118); Kuching (112); Indera Mahkota in Kuantan (105); and Balok Baru in Kuantan (122).
Also in the unhealthy range were Seremban (115); Port Dickson (115); Nilai (114); Bukit Rambai (108); and Malacca City (136).
The Natural Resources and Environment Ministry said in a statement that the haze caused by land and forest fires in Indonesia was currently being blown by winds from Kalimantan to West Sarawak.
It said a map issued by the Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre also showed the haze moving from central Sumatra to the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia.
Schools in Putrajaya, Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Negri Sembilan and Malacca were closed on Sept 15 after API readings in some of the areas rose to nearly 200.
Operations come to a halt after haze hinders visibility
RAZAK AHMAD The Star 27 Sep 15;
PETALING JAYA: The worsening haze caused the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang to be closed for nearly three hours after the smog reduced visibility to below 300m.
The airport runway was closed at 4.50pm as the air quality situation deteriorated in the Klang Valley, with winds blowing in the haze from land and forest fires in central Sumatra.
The closure caused flights to Subang to be diverted to Penang and Johor Baru, while several flights taking off from the airport were delayed.
In a tweet, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd said the runway was re-opened at 7.45pm after visibility improved and urged all affected passengers to check with their airlines for their flight schedules.
Firely and Malindo Air operate from the airport.
Civil Aviation Department director-general Datuk Seri Azharuddin Abdul Rahman said the closure of the runway was a safety precaution due to the worsening haze.
“The Subang airport has been reopened. All other airports continued to operate as usual,” he said.
Both the KL International Airport and KLIA2 remained open to air traffic.
In a statement, Malindo Air said all its affected passengers had been notified and that they could either change their flight dates for free or opt for full refunds.
Malindo Air CEO Chandran Rama Muthy said flights which were supposed to land at Subang during the closure were diverted to Penang and Johor Baru.
He said one flight from Trichy, India, which was scheduled to land at KLIA2 in Sepang, was initially diverted to Penang due to the haze but was later allowed to land in KLIA2 when visibility improved.
Firely CEO Ignatius Ong said all of the airline’s flights in and out of the airport were affected during the closure and urged passengers to contact the airline.
In a statement, Malaysia Airlines said its operations at KLIA were largely unaffected by the haze yesterday.
It said only one of its planes, Flight MH2591 from Miri to Kuala Lumpur, was diverted to Penang due to poor visibility.
“Aside from Flight MH2591, all other Malaysia Airlines flights in and out of KLIA were not affected by the haze,” it said.
Subang Airport flights suspended due to haze
RAZAK AHMAD The Star 26 Sep 15;
PETALING JAYA: Flights in and out of Sultan Abdul Aziz airport in Subang were suspended from about 5pm to 7.45pm Saturday due to poor visibility caused by the haze.
Firefly chief executive officer Ignatius Ong, when contacted, said that the airport was closed to flight operations at about 5pm.
He said that Firefly has flights operating out of Subang until 10pm and all of its flights had been affected.
Malindo Air CEO Chandran Rama Muthy said they had yet to decide whether to cancel their flights departing the airport, as they were waiting for guidance from authorities.
A Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) spokesperson said visibility at the airport was down to 350m, which prevented aircraft from taking off or landing.
He said both KLIA and KLIA2 were operating as normal.
In a tweet, MAHB said the runway was re-opened at 7.45pm.
"All passengers are advised to check with the respective airlines for their flight schedule," it said.
Schools in three states to resume today, says ministry
The Star 27 Sep 15;
PETALING JAYA: Schools in Johor, Terengganu and Kelantan will resume today as the haze is still within acceptable levels, said the Education Ministry.
The decision was based on the monitoring of Air Pollutant Index (API) levels throughout the country, which was still under the 200 reading as at 4pm yesterday.
The ministry said state and district education offices would continue to monitor the API readings.
In the event that the API increased to unhealthy or very unhealthy levels, it said the departments could take their own action on whether to keep the schools open.
An API of between 101 and 200 is considered unhealthy, while an API of between 201 and 300 is very unhealthy.
In Johor Baru, state Education Department director Aminuddin Adam said schools would be not be closed today because the API levels were still at average.
“Should there be a necessity for school closure, parents will be informed via the media so that they can make the necessary arrangements.
“Teachers will be on standby at the affected schools to inform them,” he said.
Aminuddin added that the department was keeping tabs on the air quality on an hourly basis and would update the schools on the latest situation.
He also urged parents to keep up with the latest updates and check the Department of Environment’s website for the latest readings.
No Malaysia Airlines Flight Affected By Haze
Bernama 26 Sep 15;
PUTRAJAYA, Sept 26 (Bernama) -- No Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAS) flights in and out of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) have been affected by the haze, said the national carrier Saturday.
However, it said Malaysia Airlines Flight MH2591 from Miri to Kuala Lumpur was diverted to Penang this afternoon due to poor visibility caused by the haze.
"Aside from MH2591, all other Malaysia Airlines flights in and out of KLIA are not affected by the haze," MAS said in a statement.
Meanwhile, a Malaysia Airport Holdings Berhad (MAHB) spokesperson, without elaborating further, confirmed the MH2591 landed safely in KLIA at 4.12pm today.
As of 3pm, the Air Pollutant Index (API) reading in area around KLIA such as Putrajaya is categorised as poorer air quality at 99.
A Bernama check around klia2 found the area covered with haze and visibility was two kilometres.
-- BERNAMA
Haze Does Not Affect Daily Activities In Johor Baharu
Bernama 26 Sep 15;
JOHOR BAHARU, Sept 26 (Bernama) -- The haze which hit several areas in the state since Thursday does not affect the daily activities of the residents of Johor Baharu.
Bernama visited several locations including the wet market and the Larkin Public Transportation Terminal here this morning and found most people including foreign nationals working here opting to function as normal.
However, certain quarters such as the young, disliked leaving the house, thinking that the haze could have an adverse effect on health.
Bus driver, Zul Ghafar Mohd Tarini, 33, said he worked as usual today but had to exercise extra care when driving.
"The haze at night is worse, compared to day time. I am forced to wear a mask and drive more slowly to avoid mishap," he said.
Vegetable wholesaler Zakaria Hasan, 60, was thankful his business remained brisk although the public preferred to spend less time outdoors due to the haze.
"The haze is temporary in nature, so whether they want to or not, the public has to venture out to buy provision.
"Due to this, my business is not affected in the least," said Zakaria, from Kelantan.
However, this was not the case with student, Nur Alina Hassan, 23, who said the haze had affected her outdoor activities with her friends and caused her to have sore throat and cough.
"I am not comfortable going anywhere in such weather. In fact, I avoid going out of the house if there is nothing important to do," she said.
As of 4 pm Saturday, the Air Pollutant Index (API) recorded in Larkin Lama was 104, Pasir Gudang 105, Muar 77 and Kota Tinggi 73.
This situation was different compared to yesterday, with API reading in Larkin Lama (190), Pasir Gudang (194) and Kota Tinggi (129).
-- BERNAMA
