Malaysia records unhealthy air quality in around 30 areas as haze spreads

Malaysia records unhealthy air quality in around 30 areas as haze spreads Much of the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and parts of Sarawak were affected on Tuesday (Aug 25), with authorities saying haze was moving in “from various directions”. KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia recorded “unhealthy” air quality in around 30 areas nationwide on Tuesday (Aug 25) as it grapples with haze linked to fires in neighbouring Indonesia. Twenty-nine areas had unhealthy Air Pollutant Index (API) readings as of 2pm, the Department of Environment, under Malaysia’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability, said in a statement posted Tuesday afternoon on Facebook. The highest API reading of 182 was recorded at Serian district police headquarters monitoring station in Sarawak. This was followed by Johan Setia in Selangor at 173 and Sri Aman in Sarawak at 170. Under Malaysia’s API scale, readings from 0 to 50 are classified as good, 51 to 100 as moderate, 101 to 200 as unhealthy, 201 to 300 as very unhealthy and above 300 as hazardous. Shah Alam recorded an API reading of 162 while Kuching registered 160. Other areas with unhealthy air quality included Tanjung Malim at 157 and Taiping at 155, both in Perak. A monitoring station in Kuala Lumpur recorded an API reading of 154 while in Johor, Segamat, Batu Pahat and Tangkak each registered readings of 152. Another 38 monitoring stations recorded moderate air quality. Earlier on Tuesday, 32 areas had recorded unhealthy air quality, according to local media reports. The increase in the number of areas recording unhealthy readings along the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and in several areas of Sarawak is “due to the movement of haze from various directions”, the Department of Environment said in its afternoon statement. The department cited findings by the Singapore-based ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre on Monday, which detected 287 hotspots in Kalimantan and 65 in Sumatra. Another 11 hotspots were detected in Malaysia - eight in Sarawak, two in Johor and one in Selangor. “Moderate to dense transboundary haze” was observed in West Kalimantan, moving northwards towards western Sarawak, the department said. “Moderate to dense smoke plumes were also observed over other parts of Kalimantan as well as central and southern Sumatra.” ENFORCEMENT STEPPED UP The Department of Environment said that it has “stepped up enforcement action” and daily patrols in areas where open burning may potentially occur. “(Malaysia’s) National Open Burning Action Plan and National Haze Action Plan have been activated to coordinate government agencies’ efforts to tackle open burning and respond to the country’s haze situation,” the statement added. The action plans were activated earlier this month when Sarawak began recording unhealthy API readings. Under the haze action plan, all outdoor activities have to be suspended when API readings exceed 100. Schools, kindergartens and nurseries have to be closed immediately when readings exceed 200. Cloud seeding operations will also be carried out when API readings exceed 150 for more than 24 hours. The department also advised landowners to closely monitor areas susceptible to or frequently affected by fires, such as landfills, forests, peatlands, plantations, and agricultural and industrial areas. “They should also take measures to prevent trespassing by irresponsible parties that could result in open burning, whether deliberate or accidental,” it said. On Sunday, Malaysia Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad said that the ministry has recorded a sharp surge in asthma and upper respiratory tract infection cases as haze conditions affect several parts of the country, local media reported. Several days before that, Sarawak state authorities ordered a two-day closure of 591 schools across 10 districts as haze conditions worsened in the East Malaysia state.