Brace for haze, says Meteorological Dept

PETALING JAYA: Smoke from Sumatran fires in Indonesia are expected to cross over into Malaysia soon, the Meteorological Department said on Friday.

Spokesman Dr Hisham Mohd Anip said drier-than-usual weather was in the region, and that winds would carry haze from Indonesian fire hotspots over Malaysia.

"Expect the weather to be a bit drier starting from tomorrow, and also the possibility of haze," he told The Star on Friday.

He added that a tropical cyclone in The Philippines's east was also drawing winds southwest of it, namely from Indonesia and Malaysia.

This, Dr Hisham said, meant that winds from the region would likely push haze clouds over Malaysia.

"These are southwest winds moving northeast. Maybe it will last until the end of next week," he said.

According to a Jakarta Post report, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellite detected 225 hotspots across Sumatra on Thursday.

This was an increase of 49 hotspots from the day before, which seemed to be present on the island's Riau, North Sumatra, Jambi and South Sumatra provinces.

Meanwhile, most Malaysian cities on the Peninsular's West Coast appeared to show a mixture of moderate and good air quality readings.

According to the Department of Environment website, the most unhealthy readings in the country were recorded in Malacca's Bukit Rambai.

It had an Air Pollutant Index (API) reading of 72. Meanwhile, most areas in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur had moderate API readings of between 51 and 60.