Tuesday 19 June 2012

Haze heads north as Selangor skies clear up


PETALING JAYA: The haze which enveloped residents in Selangor appears to be moving north to Perak, Penang, Kedah and Kelantan.

While the skies over Selangor have cleared significantly with no more unhealthy air quality areas, certain spots in the northern states are on the brink of charting 100 on the Air Pollutant Index.

According to the Department of Environment's Air Pollutant Index (API), Seri Manjung registered 97, Seberang Jaya was 96 while Sungai Petani was 95 as at 5pm yesterday.

On the other hand, Port Klang, which consistently recorded the highest API in the past five days with numbers close to 150, registered an API of 79.


Haze attack: Komtar Tower is barely visible, as seen from the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway in Penang at 11.30am yesterday. (Below) The haze has enveloped the skies over the waters surrounding Penang.
Other areas in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur are registering readings of between 60 and 72.

Images from the NOAA-18 satellite, operated by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, also showed 310 hotspots in Sumatra as of yesterday morning.

It was reported that the haze was the result of peat and forest fires in the Riau district in central Sumatra and might prolong because of the drought there, which might last until July.

The current hot and wet weather in Malaysia, caused by the southwest monsoon, may also last until September.


In KLANG, the St John Ambulance of Malaysia said it was placing two extra ambulances on standby to respond to respiratory-related emergencies in the Klang Valley.

Selangor commander Datuk Yeo Kim Thong said: “All our ambulances are fully equipped, including with oxygen masks for those suffering from respiratory problems.

“Normally, we have three ambulances on standby but because of the haze, we are adding two more,” he told The Star.

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