TIS THE SEASON TO BE HAZY.......

It's that time of the year again....no not Christmas, lah. Haze season, unhealthy air, watering eyes, coughs, sore throat. When will all these end. The Indonesian Government really got to do something about this to stop all these open burning.

Until such time, we have just got to get on with our lives and take precausions.

Unhealthy air around Klang (The Malaysian Insider)

By Shannon Teoh

May 12, 2011

 

KUALA LUMPUR, May 12 — Port Klang’s air quality reached unhealthy levels this morning, with other areas near the port town in Selangor on the brink.

Although Tanjung Malim, which also saw unhealthy air yesterday evening, has recovered to an Air Pollutant Index (API) of 64, much of the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia is still covered in a choking haze.

Hotspots in Sumatra are believed to be the cause of yet another haze that has left just 21 of 50 areas monitored by the Department of Environment with “good” air quality.

Other areas near Port Klang with close to unhealthy air are Banting (96) and Shah Alam (84) with Nilai, about 40km southeast of the port, having an API of 89.

Healthy API readings are 50 and below, moderate 51-100 and unhealthy 101-200. Readings above 301 are deemed hazardous.

In October last year, the government closed at least 200 schools in areas where the API rose above 400.

The haze that began yesterday follows a regional heatwave in recent days that caused scattered hotspots (areas of high temperature likely caused by open burning as seen via satellite imagery) in Sumatra and Malaysia.

Sumatra is registering multiple hotspots close to its east coast, which faces Peninsular Malaysia, according to data from Singapore’s National Environmental Agency.

“Prevailing dry conditions led to scattered hotspots to be detected in central Sumatra. Elsewhere isolated hotspots were detected in most parts of northern Asean and Borneo,” its website reported.

The haze in Malaysia has repeatedly made headlines, with one of the worst incidents occurring in 2005 when the smoke-filled air forced a declaration of emergency to be announced in Port Klang and Kuala Selangor where the API soared over 500.

It prompted crisis talks with Indonesia due to lingering smoke from forest fires in Sumatra.

Until the next time, cheers.