The haze in Johan Setia in Klang, Selangor recorded an unhealty Air Pollution Index (API) of 102 as at 8am today.
This, however, is an improvement compared to 342 as of 7pm yesterday, according to the website The Air Pollution Index of Malaysia (APIMS).
API readings in several places, included Kangar, Alor Setar, Sungai Petani, Seberang Jaya, Balik Pulau and Mukah, which exceeded 100 yesterday, dropped to below 100 this morning.
Johan Setia, the place where several burning sites were spotted, is the only place exceeding 100 in the country as of 8am today.
An API reading of between 0-50 is good, moderate (51-100), unhealthy (101-200), very unhealthy (201-300) and hazardous (more than 301).
It was reported by Bernama yesterday that the Energy, Technology, Science, Climate Change and Environment Minister Yeo Bee Yin has instructed cloud seeding at Johan Setia.
However, she said the operations will only be successful if there is sufficient presence of clouds.
“I know the situation is bad, especially in the north of Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak.
“We are ready to clear the haze, but that depends on the presence of cumulus clouds.
“Hopefully, we will be able to do that the soonest possible,” she said after checking on an open burning site at Johan Setia yesterday.
Yeo said the current haze situation was due to open burning in Sumatra and Kalimantan, Indonesia, as well as in the Johan Setia area.
“As such, I urge school administrations, childcare centre operators and individuals who wish to conduct outdoor activities to observe the Air Pollution Index (API) at apims.doe.gov.my.
“If the API reading is more than 100, it is considered unhealthy. As such, do not engage in outdoor activities,” she said.
On the open burning issue in Johan Setia, Yeo said the cloud seeding operation planned for yesterday had to be called off due to insufficient cloud cover and dry weather.
She said she has also instructed local authorities in Selangor to supply 10 water tanks today to assist in open burning firefighting operations in the area.
Fire and Rescue Department director-general Mohammad Hamdan Wahid said drones were being deployed to monitor open burning activities in hotspot areas nationwide in the wake of the haze in several states. Previously, the department had to use helicopters to do this.
He said the department has identified several open burning areas nationwide, including in Sepang, Batu Arang and Batang Berjuntai in Selangor and Bukit Bendera in Penang. - Mkini
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