The Haze Is Back Again... But It Did Not Come From Indonesian Forest Fires
So close to home.
By Samantha Khor — 22 Apr 2016, 01:56 PM
However, the haze this time around is not caused by Indonesian forest fires. The putrid smoke actually came from local forest fires, including peat fires in Kuala Langat and Sepang, Selangor.
According to Natural Resources and Environment Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, the haze situation is made worse by the hot and dry weather, which caused air pollutants to float in the air.
"Currently, there is no influence of transboundary haze because the country is still in the inter-monsoon season which is expected to last until mid-May
"Fires are actively being doused by the Fire and Rescue Department, and it is under control," he said.
Wan Junaidi added that the hot weather as well as an increase in nitrogen dioxides and volatile organic compounds in the air could have contributed to the rise in the API
Wan Junaidi said that several areas in Klang Valley have recorded unhealthy levels of Air Pollutant Index (API) due to ground-level ozone pollution, noting that - based on a report by the Malaysian Meteorological Department - Klang and Kuala Selangor have has no rainfall for eight consecutive days.
As of 12pm today, 22 April, air quality in Port Klang and Miri, Sarawak has hit unhealthy levels with an API reading of 105 and 143 respectively. Other areas in Klang Valley recorded readings between 69 (Kuala Selangor) to 86 (Shah Alam).
An API of between 0 and 50 is considered good, 51 to 100 (moderate), 101 to 200 (unhealthy), 201 to 300 (very unhealthy), 301 and above (hazardous).
You can check the hourly API updates here.