Wind on our side, so don't worry about Indonesian haze for now

A fire fighter tries to put out a fire on land intended for a palm oil plantation in the village of Tanjung Palas, Dumai, Riau province, Sumatra, Indonesia. -Reuters

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians need not worry about the return of the haze after Indonesia declared a state of emergency in the Riau province in Sumatra over forest and land fires.

Meteorological Department director-general Datuk Che Gayah Ismail said the country should be safe from transboundary haze, at least for now, due to the northeast monsoon.

“The wind is blowing in the northeast direction, meaning that whatever smoke that is coming from Indonesia won’t be blown to Malaysia.

“That will last until March and in April it will be the inter-monsoon, when the wind will be light and variable and we will have more rainfall, especially in the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia.

"It's in May or June when the southwest monsoon comes when we have to worry,” Che Gayah said.

On Tuesday, it was reported that the Riau provincial government declared an emergency due to the fires but said it was a precautionary measure to prevent a repeat of the 2015 haze.

The air pollutant index (API) readings across the country showed moderate to good air quality as of 2pm Wednesday.

However, firemen nationwide are battling to control as many as eight hotspots in the country.

The Fire and Rescue Department said, while the fires, mostly Pahang and Kelantan, were still manageable, the situation could get out of hand due to the prolonged dry season.

According to the Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution website, one hotspot was detected in Sumatra, while Pahang has three.

Kelantan and Negri Sembilan recorded two forest fires while Sabah recorded one.

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said the fires in Malaysia were still manageable, expressing more concern over the fires in Riau.

“We have more hotspots but they are smaller than in Indonesia. We have our enforcement officers on the ground to extinguish them and we are moving fast. 

"Indonesia is struggling at the moment. If Indonesia were to ask for help, we can still assist them," he said.