The Star 15 Sep 15;
PETALING JAYA: Thirty-four areas nationwide recorded unhealthy Air Pollutant Index (API) readings as at 8am Tuesday.
The affected locations in the peninsula are in Johor, Malacca, Negri Sembilan, Pahang, Selangor, Perak, Penang, Terengganu, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, according to the Department of Environment’s website.
Jalan Pegoh, Ipoh recorded the highest API at 188, followed by Batu Muda in Kuala Lumpur (185), Jalan Tasek, Ipoh (182) and Banting, Selangor (181).
Other areas with unhealthy API readings in Peninsular Malaysia are Nilai (179), Seremban (173), Port Klang (171), Seri Manjung (166), Shah Alam (159) and Petaling Jaya (155).
Haze worsens in west coast areas
The Star 14 Sep 15;
KUALA LUMPUR: The number of areas in the country with an unhealthy Air Pollutant Index (API) has risen to 33 as at 7pm today, compared to 31 areas at 2pm.
Areas in Selangor that were severely affected by the haze were Banting (188), Port Klang (181), Petaling Jaya (168), Shah Alam (167) and Kuala Selangor (137).
Adverse haze conditions have also enveloped the capital, with Batu Muda recording an API of 183, Cheras (161) while Putrajaya had a reading of 164.
Other areas affected were the Malacca City (161), Bukit Rambai (182), Nilai (187), Port Dickson (183), Seremban (175), Balok Baru in Kuantan (135), Indera Mahkota (118), Jerantut (125), Jalan Tasek (153), Kampung Air Putih, Taiping (141), SK Jalan Pegoh, Ipoh (167), Seri Manjung (173) and Bakar Arang, Sungai Petani (127).
In Sarawak, three places recorded an unhealthy API, namely Samarahan (104), Sarikei (126) and Sri Aman (136).
According to the Department of Environment (DOE), two new areas which recorded unhealthy air quality were Sibu (106) and Pasir Gudang (103).
In Terengganu, Kemaman and Paka recorded unhealthy readings of 134 and 112 respectively while in Johor, it was at Larkin Lama (105) and Muar (140).
In Penang, the three worst affected areas were Seberang Perai 2 (150), USM (145) and Georgetown (124).
An API of between 0 and 50 is considered good, 51 to 100 (medium), 101 to 200 (unhealthy), 201 to 300 (very unhealthy) and 300 and above (hazardous).
Members of the public can refer to MOE's portal at http://apims.doe.gov.my to find out the latest API readings.
Sumatra`s haze shrouds Kuala Lumpur
Antara 14 Sep 15;
Tanjungpinang, Riau Islands (ANTARA News) - The haze arising from Sumatras forest and plantation fires has blanketed Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, a local weather analyst stated.
"The visibility is one thousand meters. It is getting worse compared to that in the previous days," Ardhito, the weather analyst of the Tanjungpinang meteorology office, noted here, Monday.
A visibility of one thousand meters usually affects air and sea transportation operations, he pointed out.
However, flights in Malaysia have not been cancelled as it most likely has sophisticated equipment to address the problem, according to Ardhito.
Haze has also affected Singapore as the wind blew from the southeast to south and then drifted in the northeast direction toward Malaysia when it reached Pekanbaru.
Malaysia, Singapore, and Riau Island have been shrouded by haze from forest fires in Jambi, Bangka Belitung, and Riau Provinces.
In the meantime, German news agency DPA reported that Malaysias maritime and aviation departments on Sunday issued warnings over poor visibility caused by the worsening haze in the capital and elsewhere.
At least two international flights were diverted during the past two days due to poor visibility, Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai stated.
He added that some maritime activities would be suspended if the visibility dropped below one nautical mile, or 1.8 kilometers, but he did not specify what would be affected.
The smoky haze hovering over Malaysia is caused by the ongoing plantation and forest fires in the nearby Indonesian provinces of Sumatra and Kalimantan, where fires are often intentionally set to clear land areas, DPA reported.
The environment department stated on Sunday that the air pollution index in Kuala Lumpur and almost all areas on the peninsula had reached unhealthy levels.
The haze is also blanketing Singapore, according to reports.
Some 1,887 hotspots, comprising 575 in Sumatra and 1,312 in Kalimantan, were detected by the Terra and Aqua Satellite on Sept. 11 afternoon.
(f001/INE)
EDITED BY INE.
Southern S’wak air quality slightly better
The Star 15 Sep 15;
KUCHING: The air quality in southern Sarawak has improved slightly, but elsewhere in the state, the haze has worsened.
At 2pm yesterday, the air pollutant index (API) for Kuching dropped to 98, the first time it has been below the 101 unhealthy level since last Thursday.
Visibility in the state capital increased to 1km from 600m the day before.
Nearby, in Samarahan, the API reading went down to 102 at 4pm, from a high of 179 last Friday. In Sri Aman, the API increased to 138 yesterday, up from 100 on Sunday.
Miri and Limbang had moderate API readings of 85 and 64 respectively.
Most other air quality monitoring stations in the state reported unhealthy levels.
Heavy haze affects flights over Penang
CHONG KAH YUAN The Star 15 Sep 15;
SEVERAL flights were disrupted as the visibility level in the northern region fell to its lowest this year because of the haze.
A spokesman for AirAsia Berhad said two flights were unable to land at the Penang International Airport.
“Affected passengers were notified and attended to.
“We will monitor the situation closely and keep all passengers informed,” the spokesman said yesterday.
At 4pm, the horizontal visibility level at Bayan Lepas was 900m while Butterworth and Prai both recorded 1km.
Alor Setar did not fare any better with the visibility at 2km while Langkawi escaped with visibility above 10km.
Over 60 people were also affected when a Malindo Air flight from Penang to Malacca had to be diverted to Johor Baru.
The Star assistant chief sub-editor Derrick Vinesh, who was among the affected passengers, said his plane landed in Senai Airport at 12.40pm.
“The pilot said he could not land in Subang as the haze there was equally bad.
Many passengers missed their appointments.
“The airline declined to get a bus or van to send us to Malacca but later offered to fly us back to Penang.
“Many took a cab and shared the fare to travel to Malacca,” he said.
Penang International Airport senior manager Mohd Ariff Jaafar said no other flight was affected at press time.
Yesterday, the Air Pollutant Index (API) reading at all three stations in Prai, Seberang Jaya 2 and Universiti Sains Malaysia at 4pm was 115, 138 and 137 respectively.
The reading at Bakar Arang, Sungai Petani was 120 while Alor Setar and Langkawi recorded 78 and 59 respectively.
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 Consumers Association of Penang has urged the states to take immediate measure to close all schools due to the worsening haze situation.
“We need to be cautious and wear masks,” its president S.M. Mohamed Idris said in a statement.
Penang Health director Datuk Dr Zailan Adnan said face masks would be given for high-risk respiratory cases.
“To date, there is no significant hike in the number of patients with respiratory problems and conjunctivitis at the sentinel clinics,” she said.
Poor visibility forces several flights to be diverted
The Star 15 Sep 15;
GEORGE TOWN: Several flights were disrupted as visibility in the northern region of the peninsula fell to the lowest this year.
An AirAsia spokesman said two flights were unable to land at the Penang International Airport as the haze caused visibility to drop below the minimum level.
“Affected passengers were notified and attended to. We will monitor the situation closely and keep all passengers informed,” the spokesman said.
At 4pm, the horizontal visibility level at Bayan Lepas was 900m while Butterworth and Prai both recorded 1km.
Alor Setar did not fare any better, with visibility at 2km, while Langkawi was much better at above 10km.
More than 60 passengers were also affected when a Malindo Air flight from Penang to Malacca had to be diverted to Johor Baru.
The Star assistant chief sub-editor V. Derrick Vinesh, who was among the passengers, said the plane landed at Senai airport at 12.40pm.
“The pilot said he could not land in Subang as the haze was bad. Many people missed their appointments.
“The airline declined to get a bus or van to send us to Malacca, but later offered to fly us back to Penang. Many of us took taxis and shared the fare to travel to Malacca,” he said.
Penang International Airport senior manager Mohd Ariff Jaafar said no other flights were affected as at press time.
The Air Pollutant Index (API) in Prai, Seberang Jaya 2 and Universiti Sains Malaysia at 4pm was 115, 138 and 137 respectively.
The reading at Bakar Arang, Sungai Petani, was 120 while Alor Setar and Langkawi recorded moderate levels at 78 and 59 respectively.
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).
