First, it was the dry spell and then came the water shortage. Now, residents in Klang Valley have to put up with the haze as well.
Yesterday’s Air Pollution Index (API) reading bumped up to unhealthy levels in five places in the Klang Valley, with Port Klang registering 136 at 6pm.
The other places include Seremban (112) in Negeri Sembilan, Shah Alam (101) and Banting (117) in Selangor while Seri Manjung, Perak, recorded 109.
According to the Department of Environment (DOE) website, several areas recorded moderate air quality as at 6pm. They were Batu Muda (92) in Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya (100) and Kuala Selangor (98) in Selangor.
Other states that recorded moderate to unhealthy air readings included Taiping (100) and Ipoh (83) in Perak, and in Muar, Johor (97), Prai in Penang (94), and Sungai Petani, Kedah (99).
Meteorological Department national weather centre director, Muhammad Helmi Abdullah, said it was not surprising to face hazy conditions during this time of the year, as it was the dry season due to the end of the Northeast monsoon season.
He also said that this year’s haze was worse than last year’s, and attributed it to open burning, forest fires and peat fires.
“The haze has nothing to do with our neighbours. It is not transboundary haze but our own doing,” he said.
He added that there was neither enough rain nor strong winds to help disperse or clear haze particles during long periods of dry weather.
The DOE also stated that the current moderate haze in our country is due to land and forest fires in several states including Selangor, Perak, Pahang, Johor, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu.
The current dry and hot weather conditions caused suspended dust particles to accumulate in the air, which results in haze, the department said.
Adding on, various pollutant sources such as industrial emissions, motor vehicles and earthworks contributed to the increasing API levels.
The DOE said the peninsula would not receive much rain until mid-March.
“However, rain and thunderstorms can occur in the afternoon and early evening in the interior of Perak, Selangor and Pahang,” it said.
Due to the wind patterns, the possibility of peninsular Malaysia being hit by transboundary haze is currently low.
[Source]
