Malaysia: Unhealthy API readings brings a halt to outdoor activities

NOEL FOO AND KATHLEEN MICHAEL The Star 16 Sep 15;

Visibility in the Klang Valley may have improved slightly after a bout of rain yesterday morning, but there is yet to be any significant improvement in the Air Pollutant Index (API) readings.

Several outdoor events were also postponed to a later date in light of the conditions, such as AIA’s Touching Lives Charity Bazaar.

The Subang Jaya Municipal Council postponed a corporate social responsibility tree planting activity scheduled for Saturday at Taman Tasik Puchong Perdana.

It may also decide to cancel the Larian SJ10K on Sunday if the condition does not improve.

After parents expressed their concerns regarding schools still operating despite the haze, the Education Ministry made a last-minute decision to order schools in several states to close for at least two days.

Even Smart Reader Worldwide had postponed its event “My First Ringgit Workshop” scheduled for Sept 17 due to the bad haze situation.

The programme was designed for children aged between three and six years to educate them on the fundamentals of financial knowledge and importance of saving money.

However, life goes on for working Malaysians, who have to brave the conditions and go to work as usual.

Human resource and business planning manager Seow Choon Hui, 25, who takes the train to work at KL Sentral, planned to drive if the haze worsened.

“There was a day I was forced to take the train and it was quite bad. My eyes were tearing the whole day,” said Seow.

However, he admitted that he was not using a mask yet as the situation was not as bad as a few years ago.

University tutor Evelyn Toh, 24, will travel with her friends to Sarawak this week and she is concerned that the haze may affect their plans for outdoor activities.

“The API was between 150 and 200 in Kuching these few days. I actually went out to buy N95 masks for our trip,” said Toh, who was looking forward to activities such as kayaking, white water rafting, and caving.

“We will likely cut down on some of the activities depending on the haze. But I still plan on having fun while wearing my N95 mask,” she added.

According to the news reports, the Meteorological Department plans to carry out cloud seeding operations as soon as possible when the conditions are right.

Devaki Thannimalai, 60, who lives in Puchong is very disturbed by the haze in the Klang Valley.

She just returned home from a company trip to Vietnam and was greeted by the smell and sight of the haze on arrival.

“If I had known that I’d be back to a country that’s covered in haze, I would have extended my holiday in Vietnam,” she said, adding that the haze made it difficult for her to breathe and hurt her eyes.

Schools around the Klang Valley were notified to close as API readings hit 200 this week.

Form Four student Nicole Anne said before the school’s closure, all school activities were cancelled.

“During recess, students were told to go to the canteen, eat, then go back to their classrooms as soon as possible,” she said.

Taman Miharja Apartment resident Chan Chung Park, 26, said the haze was getting worse, especially on days it did not rain.

“The rain yesterday cleared the haze a little and visibility is better too. However, the haze condition throughout the week was really bad.

“I registered for a 10km run this Sunday and if the haze continues to be bad, I will not attend it,” he said.

Segambut Dalam resident Gai Sik Mei, 26, said the haze was worse compared to last week.

“The situation did not improve and some of the convenience stores ran out of stock for face masks.

“I used to do a lot of outdoor exercises but now I try to avoid going out. Gathering with friends are restricted to indoors,” she said.

Elizabeth K., 50 who resides in Shah Alam said the haze was an irritating recurrence.

“My eyes are smarting and I can’t do gardening. The weather looks like we are in a cold country but the smell tells us otherwise,” she said.

Cyberjaya is said to have one of the higher API readings in the Klang Valley and the haze had been tough on 26-year-old accountant Siti Nur Harini and her siblings.

“It’s just bad these past few weeks. Quite suffocating and our eyes teared easily. I even encouraged my younger brothers to skip school earlier in the week, and no laundry can be done too,” she said.

“Even with closed doors and windows, you can still smell smoke. It gets slightly better after the rain and I hope it stays this way until the end of the week,” she added.

34 areas declared unhealthy
The Star 16 Sep 15;

PETALING JAYA: A total of 34 areas have been declared unhealthy with their Air Pollutant Index (API) readings ranging between 104 and 188.

As the air quality continued to worsen, seven more places were added to the list on Monday.

The new areas are Paka (API reading of 111), Sibu (117), Sungai Petani (126), Perai (133), Seberang Jaya (160), Jerantut (160) and Indera Mahkota (150).

Meanwhile, four areas which recorded an API of over 180 are Jalan Pegoh in Ipoh (188), Batu Muda in Kuala Lumpur (185), Jalan Tasek in Ipoh (182) and Banting (181).

“The haze has not improved especially in Klang Valley, the north and south of West Coast and West Sarawak.

“The haze is still caused by the smoke travelling across borders following the southwest monsoon that brought polluted air from hotspots in Sumatera and Kalimantan in Indonesia,” the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry said in a statement yesterday.

The latest API reading can be viewed on http://apims.doe.gov.my.

Meanwhile, Malaysian Meteoro­logical Department Atmospheric Science and Cloud Seeding division director Maznorizan Mohamad said cloud seeding started yesterday to reduce the impact of the haze.

She said two Royal Malaysian Air Force Hercules C130 aircraft based in Subang and Kuching would be used to cover the Klang Valley, southern Perak, western Pahang, Negeri Sembilan, Melaka and the south and west of Sarawak.

“Rain can be expected several hours after the cloud seeding process is carried out and last up to an hour.

“It is hoped this will ease the haze in the areas concerned,” she told Bernama.