OFFICIAL PORTAL
PRIME MINISTER'S DEPARTMENT
NATIONAL DISASTER MANAGEMENT AGENCY
PRIME MINISTER'S DEPARTMENT
NATIONAL DISASTER MANAGEMENT AGENCY
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 30 — The haze currently affecting the country is caused by moderate to thick smoke from clusters of hotspots detected across much of Kalimantan as well as central and southern Sumatra.
Department of Environment (DOE) deputy director-general (Development) Azuri Azizah Saedon said the Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC) reported 327 hotspots in Kalimantan and another 191 in Sumatra yesterday, while one hotspot was detected in Sarawak.
“ASMC also reported moderate transboundary haze affecting several areas in Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore and northwestern Borneo,” she said in a statement today.
She said the DOE had stepped up inspections, patrols and monitoring in fire-prone areas, particularly peatlands and landfill sites, amid continued hot and dry weather.
“Where offences are identified, follow-up action will be taken based on the findings of inspections and investigations, as well as evidence obtained on the ground,” she said.
Azuri Azizah said the DOE would continue monitoring Air Pollutant Index (API) readings, hotspots and transboundary haze developments, taking meteorological information into account when assessing the situation and coordinating haze management measures at district, state and national levels.
As of 2 pm today, 23 areas in Peninsular Malaysia recorded unhealthy API readings, with the highest readings reported in several states, including Selangor, Johor, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang, as well as Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.
The department would also regularly provide updates on the situation, monitoring and patrol findings, Open Burning Prevention Operations (OMPT) and enforcement actions in accordance with the established reporting mechanism.
She said this was to ensure the situation could be assessed continuously and appropriate measures coordinated at all levels.
The DOE also stressed the need for cooperation from the industrial sector to reduce air emissions from major sources, particularly in areas where API readings exceed 300. — Bernama
Johan Setia reports highest unhealthy API level at 166, twenty areas in total experiencing bad air
- Admin UKK
- Berita
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 30 — Twenty areas nationwide recorded unhealthy Air Pollutant Index (API) readings as of 4.30 pm today, with Johan Setia in Selangor registering the highest level at 166.
According to the Malaysian Air Pollutant Index Management System (APIMS) portal, four other areas in Selangor also recorded unhealthy air quality: Shah Alam (164), Klang (158), Petaling Jaya (155) and Banting (143).
Two monitoring stations in the capital recorded a similar trend, in Cheras (162) and Batu Muda (160), while Putrajaya registered 157.
In Johor, the affected areas were Pasir Gudang (164), Larkin (162), Kota Tinggi (155), Pengerang (152) and Kluang (110), while in Negeri Sembilan, they were Nilai (161) and Seremban (153).
Unhealthy readings were also recorded in Balok Baru and Indera Mahkota in Pahang, each at 156.
They were followed by Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu (154), Bandaraya Melaka, Melaka (125) and Kota Bharu, Kelantan (103).
Meanwhile, 45 areas nationwide recorded moderate API readings, while only three were at a good level.
KUALA NERUS: Monsun Timur Laut (MTL) dijangka bermula lebih awal tahun ini ekoran pengaruh fenomena El Nino namun keadaan itu tidak bermakna risiko hujan lebat dan banjir di Pantai Timur boleh dipandang ringan.
Pensyarah Fakulti Sains dan Sekitaran Marin Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), Dr. Chung Jing Xiang berkata, MTL yang berlaku serentak dengan El Nino lazimnya bermula lebih awal dan mencatatkan purata jumlah hujan lebih rendah berbanding kebiasaan.
“Secara amnya MTL bila bertembung dengan kejadian El Nino, ia bermula lebih awal daripada kebiasaan dan seiring dengan kebiasaan El Nino, kita boleh menjangkakan purata jumlah hujannya lebih rendah.
“Namun, kejadian hujan melampau semasa MTL tidak boleh diukur semata-mata menggunakan fenomena El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO),” katanya kepada Utusan Malaysia di sini.
Menurutnya, hujan ekstrem yang boleh mencetuskan banjir turut dipengaruhi beberapa gangguan atmosfera lain yang berskala kecil dan mempunyai tempoh hayat lebih pendek.
Katanya, antara fenomena yang boleh menyumbang kepada kejadian hujan melampau adalah luruan sejuk, Ayunan Madden-Julian (MJO) dan pembentukan Lekukan Borneo (Borneo Vortex).
“Hujan ketika MTL sepatutnya berkurangan disebabkan kejadian El Nino yang sedang berlaku namun kita tidak harus bersikap sambil lewa terhadap risiko yang mungkin dibawa oleh MTL.
“Hujan lebat dan banjir masih boleh berlaku disebabkan gangguan atmosfera lain yang mampu menyebabkan hujan melampau,” katanya.-UTUSAN.
Smoke masks and motorbikes, Kalimantan mothers blaze through haze to defend burning forests
- Admin UKK
- Berita
KETAPANG (Indonesia), Oct 1 — Housework in the morning followed by several hours of firefighting: women in Indonesian Borneo risk life and limb to battle blazes making their communities sick, all while shouldering a sexist backlash.
More than 100 women, many of them homemakers, are volunteer members of an initiative dubbed “Power of Mama”, patrolling daily for smoke and flames and jumping in to put out fires when needed.
Formed in 2022, the “Mamas”, as they call themselves, are spread over a dozen villages in the Ketapang regency of rural Kalimantan — the name for Indonesia’s part of Borneo.
It is a region where traditional gender roles define women as the main providers of childcare, cooking and cleaning, and where firefighting is a male domain.
“There have been sarcastic remarks,” homemaker and mother Ramilah, 46, told AFP in Tanjungpura village after helping battle a nearby peatland fire with more than a dozen other women.
“We have explained that our intention is good, to help... and Alhamdulillah (praise be to God), the community has begun to accept it,” said Ramilah, who, like many Indonesians, has only one name.
The women set out on a smoke-saturated September Saturday — some on motorbikes, others piled onto the back of a pickup truck with a water pump and some buckets.
KUALA LUMPUR: Sepuluh kawasan merekodkan bacaan Indeks Pencemaran Udara (IPU) pada tahap tidak sihat setakat 7 pagi ini.
Berdasarkan portal Sistem Pengurusan Indeks Pencemaran Udara (APIMS), Johan Setia mencatatkan bacaan IPU 157, diikuti Shah Alam (156) dan Nilai (153).
Putrajaya dan Klang, masing-masing 152; Cheras (151); Seremban (130); Port Dickson (117); Batu Muda (110) dan Petaling Jaya (109).
Selain itu, 54 lokasi merekodkan bacaan IPU tahap sederhana.
Sementara empat lagi lokasi merekodkan bacaan IPU tahap baik.
Bacaan IPU sifar hingga 50 menunjukkan kualiti udara baik, 51 hingga 100 (sederhana), 101 hingga 200 (tidak sihat), 201 hingga 300 (sangat tidak sihat) dan 301 ke atas (berbahaya).