PETALING JAYA: Prolonged dry weather across southern Asean is threatening Malaysia with lingering haze and fire risks.
Sarawak continues to be the hardest hit, with nine monitoring stations recording unhealthy air quality and one registering a “very unhealthy” reading yesterday.
According to the Department of Environment’s Air Pollutant Index Management System, air quality levels in Serian breached “very unhealthy” levels after a 204 air pollutant index (API) reading.
Readings between 201 and 300 are classified as “very unhealthy”, while those between 101 and 200 are considered “unhealthy”.
Other areas in Sarawak with unhealthy air quality levels were Samarahan (177), Kuching (177), Sarikei (161), Sri Aman (158), Bintulu (154), Miri (152), Sibu (135) and Samalaju (120) as at 3pm yesterday.
In the peninsula, Cheras, Putrajaya and Shah Alam recorded unhealthy API readings with 122, 121 and 112 respectively.
The Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Ministry, in a statement, said dry weather is expected to persist across most parts of the southern Asean region.
It added that this could lead to an increasing number of hotspots and the possibility of transboundary haze.
The ministry also said the concurrent El Nino phenomenon and southwest monsoon had resulted in the south of Peninsular Malaysia alongside parts of Sarawak experiencing lower rainfall.
“Both lower rainfall and higher temperatures raise the risk of water source shortage, forest, peatland fires and haze in areas with prolonged dry spells,” it said.
The ministry also said that deteriorating air quality in Sarawak was due to transboundary haze and burning at a landfill under the purview of the Sibu Municipal Council.
There are also forest and bushfires in Sri Aman spanning about 100ha.
At the Asean level, the ministry said a Level 2 warning was activated on Aug 3, requiring Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Timor-Leste to table daily reports and emergency response plans for instances of burning and haze.
They also had to state all the steps taken to rectify the situation.
“The public is advised to reduce outdoor activities, wear face masks and stay hydrated. Open burning is strictly prohibited,” said the ministry.
The Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC) forecast, meanwhile, said dry conditions were observed yesterday morning with the exception of some showers over northern parts of Sumatra.
Isolated hotspots were also detected in the central and southern parts of Sumatra and in the southern and eastern parts of Kalimantan, according to ASMC.
“A few hotspots were detected in Peninsular Malaysia, Java, Sarawak and Sulawesi. Moderate smoke plumes were observed in west and central Kalimantan alongside slight smoke plumes in southern parts of Sumatra,” it added.
