KUCHING: The air quality has been worse in some places of the south of Sarawak as a result of the passage of the South West Monsoon wind.
According to Natural Resources and Environment Board’s (NREB) Controller of Environment Quality Sarawak Peggy Ronin Edin, the monsoon wind has also brought haze from hot spot areas from the neighbouring country, Indonesia.
As such, various measures have been taken by board including activating the haze operation room, field patrols and stopping the issuance of open burning permits to ensure air quality is maintained.
Peggy noted that the Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC) has detected as many as 185 (August 8, 2022), 262 (August 9), 73 (August 10), and 99 (August 11) hotspots in Kalimantan, Indonesia.
Throughout Sarawak, she said there are five, 17, one and two hotspots respectively on the same date.
“The Air Pollution Index (API) in Tebedu on August 9 recorded an Unhealthy reading of 132.
“However, the API reading in Tebedu has shown a downward trend to Moderate since August 11.
“Meanwhile, the API reading in other parts of Sarawak is at a Good to Moderate level,” she said today.
According to the weather forecast issued by the Malaysian Meteorological Department, the country is currently in the Southwest Monsoon phase and is expected to continue until the middle of September 2022.
Normally, during this period, the country faces a prolonged summer where most places tend to receive a higher number of days without rain than the number of rainy days.
“During this period, burning and hotspots are expected to occur easily.
“The hot spot is expected to spread easily if the dry weather is prolonged and could increase the risk of haze,” she added.
Nevertheless, she stressed, all relevant government agencies and the members of the public are advised to share the responsibility in dealing with the cause and reducing the risk of haze.
“The members of public are advised to take some measures when facing periods of hot and dry weather including drinking enough water and reducing outdoor activities as well as practicing to conserve water.
“The NREB also issued a warning to the people, particularly during the hot weather, to avoid actions that contribute to air pollution,” she said.
For the record, air quality is assessed using the Air Pollution Index (IPU) reading which is determined by the concentration of fine dust of 2.5 micron (the dominant pollutant most of the time especially during haze in Malaysia).
It is better known as PM2.5. IPU readings of 0-50 indicate Good air quality levels, 51 – 100 Moderate, 101-200 Unhealthy, 201-300 Very Unhealthy and 301-500 Hazardous.
