Air quality in Sarawak continues to worsen

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Hazy view of the State Legislative Assembly Building and Main Bazaar area from Medan Pelita.

Hazy view of the State Legislative Assembly Building and Main Bazaar area from Medan Pelita.

Two young men taking a selfie at the Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman cat statues. — Photos by Muhd Rais Sanusi

Two young men taking a selfie at the Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman cat statues. — Photos by Muhd Rais Sanusi

KUCHING: The air quality in Sarawak, particularly in the southern region, continued to deteriorate with unhealthy Air Pollutant Index (API) readings for Kuching (155), Samarahan (155) and Sri Aman (154) as of 5pm yesterday.

Other parts of the state that recorded unhealthy API readings at that time were Sarikei (137), Sibu (130) and Kapit (122).

Public Health Assistant Minister Datuk Dr Jerip Susil thus advised the public to take precautionary measures, particularly when conducting outdoor activities.

“The haze situation has not improved and is not getting any better, looking at the API readings. The sky is looking even more hazy (as I head to Sematan).

“As it is, my advice is not to hold any outdoor activities, if possible. Schools should put on hold any sports and other outdoor events,” he said when contacted by The Borneo Post yesterday evening.

Meanwhile, state health director Datu Dr Zulkifli Jantan said there was a 30 per cent increase in respiratory infections and respiratory conditions last week.

“We do not have the figures from all the facilities but we have figures from our sentinel clinics that monitor outpatient attendances.

“There is no significant increase in hospital admissions.

“The public should stay indoors, reduce outdoor activities and wear masks,” he advised.

Despite the hazy afternoon, there was no delay in flights, Kuching International Airport (KIA) manager Mohd Nadzim Hashim informed.

“As of 4pm, everything is going smoothly. There are no flight delays. The ground visibility distance is about 1,700 metres,” he said.

The public can access the hourly API updates on the official Environment Department website: http://apims.doe.gov.my.

In another development, State National Security Council assistant secretary Shalihin Annuar said the Meteorological Department and the Royal Malaysian Air Force managed to do cloud seeding operations from yesterday from 12pm until 2pm.

The operations were carried out with the support of the Public Works Department and the Kuching Water Board.