KUCHING, 27 Okt: Kerjasama serantau perlu diperkukuh bagi menangani masalah jerebu rentas sempadan yang memberi kesan kepada Sarawak sejak beberapa bulan kebelakangan ini.

Timbalan Premier Sarawak, Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan berkata, isu berkenaan memerlukan pendekatan bersama antara negara terlibat bagi membangunkan strategi yang berkesan untuk menangani masalah itu dari punca.

Menurut beliau, kesan jerebu tidak terhad kepada kawasan yang berlaku pencemaran, sebaliknya boleh merebak merentasi sempadan negara bergantung pada pergerakan angin.

“Kita telah mengalami jerebu sejak beberapa bulan kebelakangan ini. Keadaan ini sebahagian besarnya disebabkan oleh jerebu rentas sempadan. Jadi, untuk menangani masalah ini, kita perlu menanganinya terus dari puncanya,” katanya.

Beliau berkata demikian ketika berucap mewakili Premier Sarawak, Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg pada Persidangan Pendidikan Alam Sekitar 2026 (EEC 2026) yang berlangsung di sebuah hotel terkemuka di sini, hari ini.

Dalam pada itu, Awang Tengah menegaskan, isu alam sekitar seperti perubahan iklim, kemerosotan sumber biodiversiti dan alam sekitar memerlukan kerjasama, perkongsian ilmu serta tindakan yang kolektif.

Beliau berkata, kerjasama yang kukuh penting bagi membolehkan negara-negara terlibat merangka pendekatan dan strategi bagi menangani cabaran alam sekitar terutama yang melibatkan rentas sempadan.

Sehubungan itu, Awang Tengah berharap agar usaha dalam memperkukuh kerjasama serantau dapat diteruskan dalam memastikan sebarang isu berkaitan alam sekitar, termasuk jerebu dapat ditangani secara berkesan, sekali gus mengurangkan kesannya terhadap kawasan yang terjejas-TVS

KUALA LUMPUR: Kekangan sumber kewangan antara cabaran utama kerajaan dalam melaksanakan persediaan bagi menghadapi bencana banjir di negara ini.

Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, berkata meskipun kerajaan menyediakan peruntukan kecemasan, jumlahnya terhad dan hanya boleh digunakan apabila berlaku bencana.

Katanya, usaha menangani masalah banjir memerlukan kerjasama menyeluruh antara kerajaan Persekutuan, negeri dan pihak berkuasa tempatan (PBT) bagi memastikan tindakan dapat dilaksanakan secara bersepadu.

"Secara umumnya, masalah banjir ini membabitkan Kerajaan Persekutuan, negeri dan tempatan. Sebab itu, kita perlu melihat bagaimana tindakan bersama dapat dilaksanakan.

"Antara cabaran kita hadapi ialah kekangan sumber kewangan. Kita mempunyai pendekatan jangka panjang dan sederhana bagi menangani masalah ini.

"Sudah pasti kita juga mempunyai peruntukan kecemasan, tetapi jumlahnya terhad dan hanya boleh digunakan untuk mengambil tindakan segera apabila berlaku bencana," katanya ketika sesi penggulungan perbahasan Rang Undang-Undang Perbekalan 2027 peringkat dasar di Dewan Rakyat, hari ini.

Fadillah yang juga Menteri Peralihan Tenaga dan Transformasi Air, berkata, kementerian menerusi Jabatan Pengairan dan Saliran (JPS) turut melaksanakan pendekatan berstruktur dan tidak berstruktur bagi mengurangkan risiko banjir di seluruh negara.

Menurutnya, kedua-dua pendekatan itu dilaksanakan secara bersepadu dengan kerjasama kerajaan Persekutuan, kerajaan negeri dan PBT.

"Usaha mitigasi banjir perlu dilihat secara menyeluruh merentas butiran pembangunan di bawah Rancangan Malaysia Ke-13 (RMK13) termasuk tebatan banjir, pengurusan sungai dan saliran serta pengukuhan infrastruktur kawalan banjir," katanya.

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 27 — Malaysia may experience hotter and drier weather towards the end of the 2026/2027 North-east Monsoon (MTL), especially from late January to March next year, following expectations of a Super El Niño phenomenon that could lead to reduced rainfall across the country

Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) National Weather and Earthquake Operations Centre senior director Maqrun Fadzli Mohd Fahmi said these conditions could increase the risk of heatwaves and droughts, especially if rainfall decreases during that period.

He said the El Niño phenomenon is currently in a strong phase and is expected to intensify to a very strong level or Super El Niño towards the end of this year and into next year.

“With reduced rainfall, hot weather or heatwaves often emerge, along with drought due to water shortages caused by insufficient rainfall,” he said as a guest on Bernama TV’s “Fokus 15” programme today.

However, he said the initial phase of the 2026/2027 MTL, which begins today, is expected to bring three to five episodes of prolonged heavy rainfall, particularly between this November and January 2027.

He said that these conditions could heighten the risk of flooding, particularly in the East Coast states of Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang, as well as eastern Johor.

“Residents in flood-prone areas should remain vigilant regarding the risk of heavy rain during the early part of the monsoon, while drier conditions towards the end of the monsoon will require preparations for possible hot weather and water shortages,” he said.

Maqrun Fadzli said MetMalaysia monitors weather developments around the clock and will issue heavy rain warnings when necessary to enable relevant agencies and the public to take appropriate precautionary measures.

He advised the public to always refer to latest weather information and warnings from official sources, make early preparations for possible floods and comply with instructions from the authorities, including evacuation orders when necessary.

He also reminded the public to avoid open burning during the dry weather to reduce the risk of localised haze. — Bernama

KUALA LUMPUR — Almost daily downpours may offer temporary relief from the haze, but they cannot guarantee clean air while forest and peatland fires continue to pump smoke into the atmosphere, environmentalist Mohd Fadhil Mohd Din has warned.

Speaking to Scoop, Fadhil said rainfall could remove some airborne particles, but its effectiveness depended on the intensity, duration and geographical coverage of the rain, as well as whether fires continued to generate smoke.

“Both explanations are possible, and they often occur together. Fine smoke particles can remain suspended for days, while continuing emissions replenish particles removed by rain,” he said.

He said heavy rainfall in a Malaysian town did not necessarily mean sufficient rain had fallen over the areas where fires were burning or along the routes taken by smoke travelling towards the country.

Fadhil pointed to Singapore’s National Environment Agency’s observations on October 20, when afternoon showers occurred while residual smoke from Kalimantan continued drifting towards Singapore.

He said rainfall removed airborne particles through a process known as wet deposition, in which particles were incorporated into cloud droplets or captured by falling raindrops.

However, the effectiveness of this process depended on several factors, including rainfall intensity, duration, coverage, and the size and composition of the particles, he added.

Fadhil cited a field study in Beijing that recorded an average reduction of about 51 per cent in PM2.5 concentrations during heavy rain, compared with about five per cent during light rain, although the findings varied and should not be treated as removal rates applicable to Malaysia.

He warned that even heavy rain could provide only temporary relief if winds subsequently carried another plume of smoke into an affected area.

“Rainfall at the receiving location cannot reliably compensate for continuing forest and peatland fires elsewhere,” he said.

Fadhil, who is also the Director of the UTM Campus Sustainability Office (UTMCS), said the persistence of haze despite rainfall was consistent with transboundary pollution, but stressed that this alone was insufficient to establish where the smoke originated.

He said scientists needed to combine satellite observations of fires and smoke plumes with atmospheric modelling, ground-level pollution measurements and chemical analysis to identify potential sources.

“Scientists combine several independent sources of evidence,” he said, adding that wind patterns and atmospheric modelling could help establish links between potential sources of smoke and affected monitoring stations.

Fadhil also said Malaysia’s Air Pollutant Index (API), which uses a 24-hour running average for particulate pollution, could remain elevated even after conditions began to improve.

“An elevated API immediately after rain does not necessarily mean that rainfall removed nothing,” he said.

He added that weak winds, a shallow atmospheric mixing layer and temperature inversions could restrict the dispersal of pollutants, allowing them to accumulate near the ground.

Wind direction also mattered, he said, as stronger airflow could carry smoke into an area instead of clearing it.

Fadhil said lasting improvement required a reduction in smoke emissions, the removal or dispersal of existing pollution and cleaner air moving into affected areas.

“Malaysia should not rely on rainfall alone. Sustained improvement requires smoke emissions to fall, existing pollution to be removed or dispersed, and incoming air to carry less smoke,” he said.

He stressed that extinguishing forest and peatland fires was essential, particularly because peat fires could continue smouldering beneath the surface even when rain fell.

He added that preventing new fires, restoring peatlands, controlling local emissions and strengthening regional cooperation were crucial to reducing the risk of recurring haze.

Fadhil said cooperation under the Asean Haze-Free Roadmap 2023–2030 should translate into shared monitoring data, early warnings, coordinated responses and sustained action to address the sources of smoke.

He said a reliable assessment of when haze would clear needed to consider fire activity, rainfall over affected source areas and predicted smoke movement, rather than rainfall alone.

Sustained improvement in official air-quality readings, rather than the appearance of a clearer sky immediately after a downpour, would provide a more reliable indication that conditions were recovering, he added.

Air quality continued to improve in most parts of the country this morning, with only Samalaju in Sarawak recording an unhealthy API reading.

The API reading in Samalaju, about 60km northeast of Bintulu, stood at 152 as of 9am. Bintulu recorded the second-highest reading at 94, followed by Serian at 90 and Sibu at 89.

Other areas in Sarawak with moderate air quality were Sri Aman (83), Samarahan (82), Sarikei and Kuching (81 each), Mukah (75), Kapit (72) and Miri (63).

In Kuala Lumpur, Batu Muda recorded an API reading of 82, while Cheras registered 57.

In Johor, Kluang recorded a reading of 81, followed by Batu Pahat (79), Pasir Gudang (70), Larkin (67), Segamat (62), Pengerang (60), Kota Tinggi (58) and Tangkak (57).

In Negeri Sembilan, Nilai and Seremban both recorded readings of 69, while Port Dickson registered 51.

In Selangor, Johan Setia recorded an API reading of 65, followed by Klang (57), Shah Alam (53) and Petaling Jaya (52).

Other areas with moderate air quality included Keningau (73), Tawau (65) and Sandakan (57) in Sabah; Seberang Perai in Penang (64); Rompin (62) and Balok Baru (56) in Pahang; and Tasek Ipoh (61), Seri Manjung (58) and Pegoh (53) in Perak.

Paka in Terengganu recorded an API reading of 57, while Alor Gajah and Bukit Rambai in Melaka both registered 56. Labuan recorded 56 and Putrajaya 54.

API readings of between zero and 50 are categorised as good, 51 to 100 as moderate, 101 to 200 as unhealthy, 201 to 300 as very unhealthy, and readings above 300 as hazardous. – October 27, 2026