Cleaner air over weekend, but haze back on Tuesday

PETALING JAYA: Eastern winds are expected to blow the haze away this evening, giving Malaysians cleaner air over the weekend.

However, the Malaysian Meteoro­logical Department (MetMalaysia) said this would be temporary, with winds ready to bring the haze back from Indonesia on Tuesday.

“By tomorrow evening, we expect the wind to change direction by coming from the east. However, this is only temporary.

“By Tuesday, the wind might come from (the) south (from Indonesia) again,” said MetMalaysia spokesman Dr Hisham Mohd Anip yesterday.

He said Sarawak, which might also have clearer skies over the weekend, would see the haze coming back there on Monday evening, earlier than the peninsula.

As of 4pm yesterday, Samarahan recorded an Air Pollutant Index reading of 199 with Kuching at 192.

A downpour over parts of the peninsula cleared skies in some states, though certain areas such as Petaling Jaya and Kuala Lumpur hovered at the 101 unhealthy mark.

Dr Hisham said rains in the peninsula were natural.

Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Madius Tangau said cloud-seeding was carried out in Malacca, north Johor and Negri Sembilan yesterday.

However, cloud-seeding in Sarawak yesterday could not be carried out since the weather was not good enough for rain clouds to form and the haze made flying too dangerous.

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