By Trinna Leong and Kimberly Yeo
The Malaysian Insider
June 24, 2013
Sibu and Bukit Rambai are the latest areas where the Air Pollution Index (API) has been flagged as unhealthy as the haze from Indonesia moves northwards.
With this, a total of 21 areas have been rated as unhealthy.
In the capital, Kuala Lumpur’s API increased to 198, just slightly short of the very unhealthy level. Many people are now wearing face masks. Petaling Jaya is almost as bad at 193.
Authorities told The Malaysian Insider that strong winds blowing towards the northeast from the southwest of Peninsular Malaysia means the haze is clearing up in Johor.
Port Dickson in Negeri Sembilan saw its API reading improve slightly, moving down to 292 from 335 this morning. Port Klang also saw a slight drop from 296 to 288.
Muhammad Helmi Abullah, the director of Central Forecasting Office, confirmed that “the winds are blowing the haze further up north”.
“As the country is in the middle of a dry season which will last till June, the southwest of the peninsula is currently experiencing hot and humid weather compared with the northwest.”
Meanwhile, Professor Datuk Dr. Azizan Samah, a meteorology expert from University Malaya, said as the southern wind blows, it will push the haze to the north, causing the northern part of peninsula to experience the same problems experienced by the south.
“The moment you smell something burning, it shows that the level of concentration of the smoke is quite high. You can only hope for a fast wind to lessen the smoke concentration,” said Azizan. – June 24, 2013.