DOE confirms haze movement as unhealthy API hits five Sarawak areas
Serian recorded the country's highest reading of 171 at 8am today, with 643 hotspots detected in Kalimantan.
PUTRAJAYA, Aug 8 — Air quality in the country has worsened, with five areas in Sarawak recording unhealthy Air Pollutant Index (API) readings as of 8am today.
Department of Environment (DOE) deputy director-general (Development) Azuri Azizah Saedon said the five areas were Serian (171), Kuching (154), Samarahan (154), Sri Aman (139) and Bintulu (124).
Three areas recorded good air quality while 60 areas recorded moderate readings, she said.
"Air quality in the country today has deteriorated, with an increase in the number of areas recording unhealthy API readings, especially in Sarawak, due to haze movement from various directions," she said in a statement.
She said the Regional Haze Map issued yesterday by the Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC) showed dry weather would continue over most parts of the southern Asean region today, except for isolated showers over northern Sumatra and Peninsular Malaysia, as detected through NOAA-20 satellite imagery.
The Singapore-based ASMC report showed 643 hotspots in Kalimantan, 17 in Sumatra and 25 in Malaysia — 22 in Sarawak, two in Selangor and one in Terengganu.
"Hotspots were detected extensively in West Kalimantan, while isolated to scattered hotspots were detected in other areas in Kalimantan," she said, adding that moderate to thick smoke plumes were observed in West Kalimantan moving northwards into western Sarawak.
Azuri Azizah said the DOE has stepped up enforcement and daily patrols in areas at risk of open burning, while monitoring API readings from time to time. The National Open Burning Action Plan and National Haze Action Plan have been activated to coordinate agency efforts.
Under the haze plan, the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) would activate the Disaster Management Committee at district or central level when API readings exceed 150 for more than 24 hours. All outdoor activities must be suspended when readings exceed 100, while schools, kindergartens and nurseries must close immediately when readings exceed 200. Cloud seeding will be carried out when readings exceed 150 for more than 24 hours, subject to suitable clouds and weather.
She reminded the public that under the Environmental Quality (Amendment) Act 2024, those found guilty of open burning can be fined a minimum of RM25,000 and up to RM1 million, jailed up to five years, or both, with a compound of up to 50 per cent of the maximum fine also possible.
Hourly API readings are available on the DOE website or the MyJAS EQMS app. Open burning cases can be reported to the Fire and Rescue Department at 999 or the DOE toll-free line 1-800-88-2727. — Bernama
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