PETALING JAYA: Only Johan Setia in Selangor remains at an unhealthy air quality level, as the country’s air quality situation improves after a week of haze.
According to the Department of Environment (DOE), the Air Pollutant Index (API) reading at Johan Setia was 118 as of 8pm yesterday.
Sarawak, which bore the brunt of the haze last week, saw the situation improve across all monitoring stations, with moderate air quality readings.
Serian, Kuching, Samarahan, Sarikei, Sri Aman, Bintulu, Miri, Sibu and Samalaju recorded API readings ranging between 72 and 94 as of yesterday.
This marked a significant improvement from last week, when these areas recorded unhealthy readings above 101, with Serian reaching the “very unhealthy” level of 204 on Aug 12.
Unhealthy API readings range between 101 and 200, while readings between 201 and 300 are classified as very unhealthy.
DOE deputy director-general (development) Azuri Azizah Saedon said patrols had been increased to prevent activities that could potentially contribute to air pollution in Johan Setia.
So far, she said drone and on-ground monitoring had not detected any open burning activities in the area.
“We will continue to monitor the situation and identify the source of air pollution in the area while taking the necessary action,” she said in a statement.
Meanwhile, two locations in Sabah – Pitas and Telupid – were placed under a Level 1 heatwave alert as of 4pm, according to the Meteorological Department.
Level 1 alerts are issued when temperatures range between 35°C and 37°C for three consecutive days.
On a related matter, the Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC) identified only one hotspot in the country as of Sunday, which is located in Pahang.
The centre said 323 hotspots were detected in Kalimantan and 61 in Sumatra.
In its regional haze outlook, the ASMC said dry conditions were expected over many parts of the southern Asean region over the next few days. However, some isolated showers are expected over northern and central Sumatra and Peninsular Malaysia.
“Hotspot and haze conditions may continue to escalate in fire-prone regions experiencing prolonged dry weather, with a continued risk of transboundary haze occurrences,” it said.
The ASMC also said El Nino conditions, which are already present, continue to strengthen and could lead to below-normal rainfall during the same period.
“Above-normal temperatures are also expected over most of the Asean region,” said the ASMC in its seasonal forecast for August to October.
It added that strengthening El Nino conditions would increase the likelihood of extended periods of persistent dry weather, further raising the risk of transboundary haze.
