KUCHING: Some districts in Sarawak are experiencing mild haze, with the Air Pollution Index (API) approaching the unhealthy level.
Kuching is one of the divisions affected by haze, with API reading of 80 as of noon yesterday, as seen from this photograph. One could hardly see Bangunan Sultan Iskandar that mostly houses federal department offices from a reasonable distance.
At noon yesterday, Sri Aman recorded an API of 99, Sarikei recorded 86 and Kuching 80.
The situation did not improve over the day as at 3pm, Sri Aman still experienced a high API of 98, Sarikei 84 and Kuching 85.
However, other parts of the state recorded good API of below 50 except for Bintulu and Sibu which recorded API of 63 and 65 respectively.
Natural Resources and Environment Board (NREB) controller Peter Sawal when contacted said the haze was caused by open burning in Kalimantan, pointing out on Monday more than 400 hotspots were detected.
Yesterday, however, the hotspots in Kalimantan had decreased to 380 but haze was still expected judging from the high number of hotspots in the neighbouring country.
“We did not have many hotspots in Sarawak yesterday (Monday) as we have already passed planting season. And if there is, the number of hotspots is very small.
“The haze was expected today (yesterday) due to high number of hotspots in Kalimantan. It is trans-boundary haze,” Peter told The Borneo Post yesterday.
API below 50 is considered to be good, API of 51-100 moderate, 101-200 unhealthy, 201-300 very unhealthy and above 300 hazardous.
Peter said the mild El Nino was still setting in and weather would continue to be very dry and the state would have to depend on local torrential downpour to ease the dry condition.
“The dry weather will continue until the weather changes which is expected to happen in October.”
Meanwhile, when contacted the Department of Environment (DOE) said Sarawak recorded the highest API reading in the country despite being classified at a moderate level.
Among the divisions affected in the state are Sri Aman, Sarikei, Kuching, Samarahan and Bintulu. According to the API readings acquired through the state DOE portal, Sri Aman recorded the highest reading at 99 as of noon yesterday, followed by Sarikei at 86, Kuching (80), Samarahan (75) and Bintulu (64).
On the other hand, other divisions such as Miri, Kapit, and Limbang recorded good API.
Other states in the country which are experiencing haze at a moderate level are Johor, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Selangor and Terengganu.