Pedestrians shielding themselves from the rain while crossing a bridge at Pending yesterday. — Photo by Chimon Upon
KUCHING: The shifting of the south and southwesterly wind pattern brought by Typhoon Dujuan in Taiwan and eastern China is believed to have brought intermittent rain between 8am and 1.30pm in the state capital, bringing another respite to a week of transboundary haze.
From 12am to 4am yesterday, Kuching recorded Air Pollutant Index (API) readings of between 108 and 102 (unhealthy) which slowly improved to between 100 and 76 (moderate) at 5am to 5pm.
Despite the API readings of between 51 and 100 (moderate) in each division from 6am to 12noon, Kota Samarahan recorded API readings of between 111 and 101 (unhealthy) from 12am to 1pm.
The air quality readings in Kota Samarahan however continued to improve with readings of 98 to 90 from 2pm to 5pm.
When contacted by The Borneo Post yesterday, Kuching International Airport (KIA) senior manager Nadzim Hashim said flight operations in Kuching were all on schedule except for the Kuching-Pontianak route.
“Two flights (Kuching-Pontianak) at KIA, one departure and one arrival had to be rescheduled because of the haze in Kalimantan which is still affecting visibility,” said Nadzim.
He further said the closure of the airport runway was lifted as the visibility at KIA had greatly improved to 4,000 metres as compared to 300 metres on Monday morning which forced flight operators to reschedule their flights for about two hours.
It is known that the Department of Civil Aviation and airport authorities have the right to close all airport runways when visibility is reduced to less than 500 metres.
Meanwhile, yesterday also saw the re-opening of all 588 schools in Kuching, Kota Samarahan, Sri Aman and Betong divisions which were ordered to close on Monday under the directive of the Ministry of Education.
State Education Department public relations officer Suffian Jalet said despite the reopening of schools, their officers are closely monitoring the haze situation by working together with all the relevant agencies.
“If the haze gets worse by the day, the state department will order a closure notice to the school(s) in the affected area,” said Suffian.
A press release from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment said based on reports from the Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC) based in Singapore, their satellite images had roughly pin-pointed only 19 hotspots in Kalimantan due to poor satellite imaging data on Sept 28.
As of 12am to 5pm yesterday, Miri showed API readings of between 64 and 66, Kapit (58-73), Sri Aman (71-98), Limbang (58-61), Sibu (70-86), Bintulu (70-74) and Sarikei (73-86).
The API guide from the Department of Environment indicates reading from 0-50 as healthy; 51-100 (moderate); 101-200 (unhealthy); 201-300 (very unhealthy) and 301 and above (hazardous). The guide also indicates when reading touches 101, outdoor activities should be restricted.