20160422 Malaysia Fires Coupled With Hot Weather Cause Of Haze In Klang Valley – Wan Junaidi
Malaysia Apr 22 2016 “Other”
Dead : dead 0 or unknown Burnout : 0 or unknown Injured : injured 0 or unknown
Fires Coupled With Hot Weather Cause Of Haze In Klang Valley – Wan Junaidi
Updated: 2016-04-22 12:00
KUALA LUMPUR, April 22 (Bernama) — The haze plaguing the Klang Valley since yesterday is due to the smoke from fires which occurred in several areas in the Peninsula, including peat fires in Kuala Langat and Sepang, Selangor.
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar in a statement tonight said the situation was aggravated by the hot and dry weather, causing the 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.
In the meantime, Wan Junaidi said as at 3 pm today, several areas around the Klang Valley recorded unhealthy levels of Air Pollutant Index (API) due to ground-level ozone pollution.
Wan Junaidi said the sweltering weather conditions and an increase in nitrogen dioxides (NOx) and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) has contributed to the rise in the API.
He said based on a report by the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MMD), as of yesterday, Klang and Kuala Selangor had no rainfall for eight consecutive days.
Meanwhile, MMD’s website as at 9 pm tonight showed that the APIs in several areas hit by the haze this afternoon, had returned to moderate levels.
Among the areas affected were Shah Alam (API reading from 122 to 86), Batu Muda (106 to 77), Cheras (131 to 78) and Petaling Jaya (103 to 73).
An API reading of between 0 and 50 is considered good, 51 to 100 (moderate), 101 and 200 (unhealthy), 201 to 300 (very unhealthy) and 300 and above (hazardous).
The public can refer to the portal http://apims.doe.gov.my/v2/ for the latest API readings.
Web Source: Bernama
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