PETALING JAYA (July 21. 2013): Regional dry weather and open burning in Sumatra is set to bring back another bout of haze.
Environment Ministry director-general Datuk Halimah Hassan confirmed today Bukit Rimbai in Malacca as the first city to record an “unhealthy” air pollutant index (API) reading of 114 as at 4pm today.
“The dry weather and open burning activities in Sumatra have brought back the haze and we are monitoring closely the hotspots there as well as keeping an eye on local burning activities,” she said.
A regional haze map released by the Meteorological Services Singapore on Saturday showed that there are now 159 hotspots in Sumatra alone, a huge jump from the four recorded hotspots on 1 July. The hotspots were primarily focused in Riau, Acheh and North Sumatra.
The Meteorological Department also predicted that there will be little rainfall for the whole of next week in the peninsula, with only isolated showers expected in some parts of the peninsula’s interior.
Mild showers are expected in the exterior parts of Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang.
“If there’s a source of burning, there will be haze,” said a Meteorological Department official when asked how the dry weather will impact the haze situation.
Today, the Singapore National Environment Agency said Singapore may experience hazy conditions in the coming days should winds change directions and start blowing east.
Haze returns, hotspots increase drastically to 159
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét