Public urged to keep eye out for open burning

Grave matter: Hotspots and plumes of smoke may occur in the drier areas, as happening currently in Kelantan, says a DOE official. — Bernama

PETALING JAYA: Despite recent bouts of rain clearing up some hotspots across the country, people have been reminded to be on the guard for sudden incidents during the inter-monsoon season.

A Department of Environment (DOE) official said although most areas in the southern region of Asean were expected to get frequent rainfall, hotspots and plumes of smoke may occur in the drier areas of a country, as is happening currently in Kelantan.

“This could lead to a rise in hotspots when the hot and dry weather is combined with the occurrence of uncontrolled open burning activities in easily flammable areas such as peatland and garbage disposal sites.

“This could create a slight haze with the potential to become much worse if the fire is not controlled and spreads to a large surrounding peatland area,” he said.

The official advised the public to refrain from open burning activity and look out for trespassers who enter their grounds to do so.

“Under Section 29A of the Environmental Quality Act 1974, those convicted of committing open burning can be fined up to RM500,000 or jailed up to five years or both.

“Under Section 29B of the same Act, the owner or occupier of the premises could also be held liable for any open burning unless proven otherwise,” he added.

The official urged the public to help by extinguishing small fires and reporting any cases of open burning to the Fire and Rescue Department at 999 and the DOE toll-free hotline [phone] or through an e-complaint on the website https://eaduan.doe.gov.my.

Meanwhile, a check with the Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) showed that temperatures in the peninsula and Sabah and Sarawak were expected to hover between 33°C and 35°C until May 2 at least.

A MetMalaysia official said the country was experiencing its inter-monsoon season with clear skies and direct sunlight expected to raise temperatures during the day, while cloudy skies and thunderstorms will result in chilly nights in most parts of the country.

Despite the relatively hot daytime temperatures, hotspots around the country remained relatively low with only one high confidence (HC) hotspot reported throughout the country on Tuesday, according to data from the Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre’s (ASMC) website.

It said the southern Asean region was expected to experience continued showers but isolated hotspots and localised smoke plumes might develop during brief periods of drier weather.