Best of our wild blogs: 4 Mar 19

Shore fun for kids during the March school holidays
Celebrating Singapore Shores!

When a Gymnodoris loses its spots
Hantu Blog

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Only one in 10 young Singaporeans recycles electronic waste: Survey

Cheryl Teh Straits Times 3 Mar 19;

SINGAPORE - Only one in 10 young Singaporeans recycles electronic waste, and 34 per cent of these do it wrongly, according to latest survey results.

This is a trend that should be reversed to help save and extend the lifespan of Singapore's only landfill on Pulau Semakau, said Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli on Sunday (March 3) at an event to raise awareness on electronic waste, or e-waste.

He said toxic materials in e-waste, such as heavy metals and mercury, contaminate the incinerated ash that is dumped into the Semakau landfill.

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Malaysia: Hot weather a normal phenomenon - MET dept

Bernama New Straits Times 4 Mar 19;

KUALA LUMPUR: The public has been urged not to be overly concerned about the hot and dry weather as it is a normal phenomenon that occurs every year, said Meteorological deputy director-general (Operation), Jailan Simon.

However, he advised the public to drink a lot of water and reduce outdoor activities to avoid being exposed to heat strokes and other health problems.

Jalian said the hot weather, which occurred between February and mid-April, was the end of the northeast monsoon that caused low rainfall.

“At this time the sun is hot, with it approaching the equator. We experience this situation every year, but we do not have to be overly worried as we do not expect to have extreme hot weather.

“However, the weather will not be as hot by the end of April. This is because we have a monsoon transition period going into the end of March and the hot weather will decline by the end of April,” he told Bernama News Channel (BNC) here.

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Indonesia: BNPB spokesperson laments theft of wildfire warning tools

Kharishar Kahfi The Jakarta Post 3 Mar 19;

National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho has lamented the theft of a forest and land fire early warning system in South Sumatra, a province prone to wildfires.

On Feb. 28, National Peatland Restoration Agency (BRG) education task group head Suwignya Utama said at least five Sipalaga (wildfire early detection systems) had gone missing since 2018, as reported by Antara. Each was valued at around Rp 100 million (US$7,091).

Responding to the news, Sutopo took to his Twitter @Sutopo_PN on Saturday evening to say: “Not only a tsunami early-warning buoy but also forest fire detection units [....], seismographs [and] tsunami warning sirens were stolen. We barely have enough, yet they were stolen.”

He said the theft was a “non-structural problem that is not easily solved, similar to littering”.

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Record Australian heat brings fire to a scorched land

Alison Bevege, Reuters Yahoo News 3 Mar 19;

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Firefighters battled 25 blazes across the Australian state of Victoria on Sunday as a record-breaking heatwave delivered the hottest start to March on record for the southern third of the country.

The continent is prone to deadly blazes thanks to its combination of remote terrain, high summer temperatures and flammable eucalyptus bush.

A severe four-day heatwave has brought fire weather across the southern parts of Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania over the weekend.

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Indonesia: Joint team has put out 80 percent of peatland fires in Nagan Raya

Antara 4 Mar 19;

(File Photo) - Peatland fires in Aceh. A joint team of the Indonesian military, police and regional disaster mitigation agency (BPBD) has put out some 80 percent of peatland fires in Nagan Raya District, Aceh Province.(ANTARA FOTO/SYIFA YULINNAS)

Nagan Raya, Aceh (ANTARA) - A joint team of the Indonesian military, police and regional disaster mitigation agency (BPBD) has put out some 80 percent of peatland fires in Nagan Raya District, Aceh Province.

"The joint team has put out some 80 percent of the fires," Commander of Nagan Raya district military command (Dandim 0116) Lt.Col Kav. Nanak Yuliana said in a statement here on Sunday.

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