Monday May 19, 2008
Get set for hazy skies again
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia's annual problem of dry weather and hazy skies look to be here again.
A check with the Malaysian Meteorological Services Department revealed 207 hotspots in Sumatra on Sunday, a drop from Saturday's 372 hotspots in that area.
Peninsular Malaysia had four hotspots, while Borneo had 52.
A spokesman on Sunday said that Malaysians could expect dry weather over the next few days.
“With the current southwest monsoon, it is quite normal to have dry weather,” he said.
“This weather pattern is generally expected to last until September, especially in the Peninsular and Sarawak.”
Sabah might have wetter weather, as there are tropical storms over the Pacific region.
The dry weather, coupled with the large number of hotspots in Sumatra, could cause the haze here.
“The hazy conditions, of course, also depend on the number of hotspots, but it is hard to say what exactly causes the hotspots. Some are natural,” he said.
According to the Department of Environment website, www.doe.gov.my, the Air Pollutant Index (API) readings showed Port Klang's reading was 100 at about 8pm Sunday.
Other areas with relatively high readings were Taiping (71), Muar (68), Kuala Terengganu (67), Kuala Selangor (63), Ipoh (62), Putrajaya (59), Prai (58) and Kuala Lumpur (55).
API readings of 0 to 50 is good, 51 to 100 is moderate, 101 to 200 unhealthy, 201 to 300 very unhealthy and above 300 is hazardous.
The spokesman said visibility was still good ranging between 7km and 9km.
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