Haze may return to region soon

PETALING JAYA: Satellite images recorded 136 hotspots in Sumatra yesterday, indicating a cloud of haze that may affect neighbouring countries soon.

Malaysian Meteorological Department data revealed that as of 5pm, three other hotspots were detected in Kalimantan, two more in Sarawak and one each in the peninsula and Sabah.

A department officer explained that these hotspots were open burnings occurring in real-time.


Lower visibility: A thick haze blanketing Petaling Jaya’s
skyline at noon Monday.

 He, however, could not comment if the hotspots were the cause of the sweltering heat in the country.

The temperature remained at almost the same high level over the past three days.

the highest recorded in Subang and Petaling Jaya topped 35C yesterday and 36C over the weekend.

Meanwhile, the Air Pollutant Index (API) retrieved from the Department of Environment's website showed that the air quality in various locations of the country remained excellent.

Its data, updated at 11am yesterday, revealed that 61% of Malaysia enjoyed good air quality while the rest of the country had moderate air quality.

The lowest API was recorded in Miri, Sarawak (19) and the highest at Shah Alam, Selangor (60).

An area's air quality reaches an unhealthy level when its API hits 101, a very unhealthy level at 201 and hazardous when it exceeds 301.