Miri chokes under haze caused by wildfires

MIRI: The night and early morning hours saw many parts of Miri City choking in a thick veil of smog.

The central parts of this city and its outskirts were enveloped in a dense shroud of haze caused by wildfires from the surrounding outskirts.

The Star did some ground checks and found visibility reduced to just 100m in several residential and commercial areas, especially in the Pujut to Lutong stretch.

The air was filled with the strong smell of ash, causing breathing difficulties for thousands of residents in this city of 350,000 population.

Sarawak is facing forest-fires woes that are raging in the northern districts and central districts.

In the northern half, there are raging fires in Miri, Limbang, Marudi and Bekenu districts as well as in Similajau National Park while there are big hotspots in the central districts of Mukah and Kapit.

These wildfires in Sarawak started in early March.