Air quality in Gombak and Seri Manjung worsens

PETALING JAYA: Air quality in Gombak and Seri Manjung, Perak worsened to unhealthy levels yesterday, as the dry weather continues to persist. 

A Department of Environment officer said Port Klang continued to register un- healthy air quality in the last few days. 

A Meteorological Department officer said visibility in Ipoh improved from 6km in the morning to 8km by yesterday evening. 

As of 6pm yesterday, most places in the country recorded normal visibility except for Butterworth (5km), Prai (6km), and Bayan Lepas (8km) in Penang, Batu Embun in Pahang (7km) and Subang and Petaling Jaya (9km). 

The officer said satellite images did not show any local fires while only five hotspots were detected in Sumatra on Friday compared to the 56 on Tuesday, which could be due to cloud cover. 

Another 28 locations, including some parts of Penang, Johor, Malacca, Johor and the Klang Valley recorded moderate readings while 20 locations had healthy levels. 

A Shah Alam Fire Department operations room officer said yesterday that there were between 10 and 15 small fires including bush and garbage fires. 

The weather for next week is expected to be dry with isolated showers in the east coast and northern parts of the country including Penang.  

The dry season was expected to continue until the end of August, which is the start of the inter-monsoon season.