District the only area with ‘very unhealthy’ air quality
PETALING JAYA: Serian in Sarawak remained the only area recording very unhealthy air quality as the haze continues to affect several parts of the country.
According to the Department of Environment’s (DOE) Air Pollutant Index Management System, IPD Serian recorded an API reading of 222 at 6pm yesterday.
DOE deputy director-general (Development) Azuri Azizah Saedon said several other areas in Sarawak also recorded unhealthy readings amid continued dry weather in parts of the southern Asean region.
She said the Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC) had detected 66 hotspots in Kalimantan and 42 in Sumatra, while no hotspots were detected in Malaysia as of Thursday.
“ASMC also reported moderate to dense haze in several areas of Kalimantan and southern Sumatra.”
Ten areas in Sarawak were at unhealthy levels.
They were Sri Aman (186), Kuching (181), Samarahan (185), Sarikei (160), Samalaju (157), Bintulu (157), Sibu (156), Mukah (153), Miri (151) and ILP Miri (126).
While 48 monitoring stations nationwide recorded moderate readings ranging from 52 to 95, nine stations showed good air quality.
Wind maps from the Regional Haze Situation website of the ASMC showed prevailing winds from the Andaman Sea in the west blowing towards northern Peninsular Malaysia.
The relatively clean maritime air protects Perlis, Kedah and Penang from the smoke from forest and peat fires in Sumatra, which are still blowing into southern areas like the Klang Valley and Johor.
Good levels were recorded in Seberang Perai (48) and Balik Pulau (36) in Penang; Besut (40) in Terengganu; Tanah Merah (38) in Kelantan; Kulim Hi-Tech (37), Alor Setar (34) and Langkawi (16) in Kedah; Kangar (17) in Perlis; and Taiping (35) in Perak.
Azuri said DOE was paying particular attention to fires in Sarawak and Johor, especially those involving peatland and landfill sites, as these areas pose a much higher fire risk during hot and dry weather.
In Sarikei, a fire at the Selalang landfill involved 1.5ha, with about 1ha or 67% extinguished, while the remaining 0.5ha was still being dealt with.
In Kota Tinggi, Johor, a peat fire near the Bukit Pelali Chinese cemetery and Jalan Bypass Sebana Cove-Punggai involved 17ha, with 14.8ha or 87% extinguished and 2.2ha still being tackled.
A separate peat fire at Kampung Sungai Buntu, Pengerang, involving 10.12ha, had been extinguished.
“DOE Sarawak and DOE Johor will continue monitoring the fire locations, including using drones to obtain the latest picture of the fire status and affected areas.”
Azuri said air quality monitoring would also continue to assess the potential impact of the fires, while enforcement action would be taken against open burning that contributed to worsening air quality.
The DOE, she said, would continue monitoring API readings, hotspots and transboundary haze developments, taking meteorological information into account when assessing the situation.
“Industries are also urged to reduce air emissions from major sources, particularly in areas where API readings exceed 300, in line with pollution control requirements.”
