PETALING JAYA: The Meteorological Department’s cloud seeding operation over Selangor brought a brief break from the stifling heat and choking haze. The department’s national weather centre director Muhammad Helmi Abdullah said yesterday’s operation was to induce rainfall over dams and water catchment areas. He said cloud seeding had also been planned over parts of Malacca,…
THE haze shrouding the air in Penang is getting from bad to worse. Although the Air Pollutant Index (API) readings were at a moderate level yesterday, the light smell of smoke could be detected. The API reading at 5pm for Seberang Jaya and Prai was 94, which was getting nearer to the unhealthy level. On…
PETALING JAYA: First, it was weeks of a dry spell. Then came the water shortage. Now, Klang Valley residents have to contend with the haze as well. Despite a brief shower in the evening, yesterday’s air pollutant index (API) reading shot up to unhealthy levels in five places in the Klang Valley with Port Klang registering…
PETALING JAYA: The Department of Environment is serious about stamping out open burning in this difficult time of haze and drought. DOE would take legal action over open burning at construction sites, farms or industrial areas, said director-general Datuk Halimah Hassan. Even lesser open burning cases, such as someone setting fire to rubbish, will not…
PETALING JAYA: Schools must stop holding activities outside the classroom for high-risk students if the Air Pollutant Index (API) reading exceeds 100, said Education deputy director-general Datuk Sufa’at Tumin. High-risk students include those prone to asthma or who have breathing difficulties. If the API reading was higher than 150, all activities beyond the classroom should…
KUALA LUMPUR: The low horizontal visibility of less than five kilometres in the waters of Kedah, Penang, Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Malacca and the northern Straits of Malacca is expected to persist until Saturday. A statement issued by the Malaysian Meteorological Department yesterday said the low visibility was due to the haze. The situation was dangerous…
Haze: Klang Valley air at unhealthy range (Update 8pm) PETALING JAYA: First the water, now the haze. It looks like Klang Valley residents can’t find any respite in the weather. Having to endure weeks of disrupted water supply, they now have to contend with the haze. The air pollutant index reading shot up to unhealthy…
GEORGE TOWN: Penang’s air turned hazier Monday although the Air Pollutant Index (API) has yet to breach unhealthy levels. The API at 11am indicated moderate quality, but visibility has been reduced and there is a slight smell of the smoke. Prai and Seberang Jaya recorded API readings of 88 and 94 respectively. Seberang Jaya had…
JAKARTA (AFP) – An Indonesian province at the heart of a South-East Asian smog crisis last year has declared a state of emergency after being blanketed in thick haze from forest fires, officials said Thursday. Thousands have fallen ill, transport has been disrupted and schools closed after days of fires in Riau province on Sumatra…
KUALA LUMPUR: The causes of the current haze in Malaysia have been identified to be domestic sources such as forest burning, smoke from factories, vehicle emissions and open burning. Malaysian Meteorological Department (JMM) director-general Datuk Che Gayah Ismail said the haze had no connection with the recent eruption of Mount Sinabung in North Sumatera, Indonesia…