The haze in Malaysia's Penang has worsened,
leaving the state at the brink of the “unhealthy” Air Pollutant Index (API)
level.
At 7:00
a.m. yesterday, the API reading recorded in Seberang Prai was 88 but it inched
to 90 by 11:00 a.m. before hitting 98 at 5:00 p.m. just three points short of
the “unhealthy” category which begins at 101.
The
situation was only slightly better in Prai where the API went from 82 (7:00
a.m.) to 83 (11:00 a.m.) and 88 at 5:00 p.m.
On
Penang island, the API at Universiti Sains Malaysia started off at 73 at 7am
and rose to 80 by 5:00 p.m.
According
to the Department of Environment, most of the recorded pollution in the air at
all three locations was made of particulate matter, also known as PM10.
The
NOAA-18 satellite, which hovers over Borneo Island, recorded a total of 163
hotspots in Sumatra, widely seen as a cause of the worsening haze, as of 4:15
p.m. yesterday.
A check
with the Meteorological Department showed that visibility in the state had also
worsened during the day.
In
Bayan Lepas, visibility was at 6km from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., then fell to
5km (1:00 p.m.) and worsened to 4km (2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.).
On the
mainland, visibility was recorded at 6km (8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.) before
dropping to 5km around 5:00 p.m.
According
to the department's official, no rain is forecast for the whole week.
Meanwhile,
Penang Water Supply Corporation corporate affairs manager K. Jeyabalan said the
state would not suffer a shortage as the two main dams had enough water to last
up to three months.
He said
the Mengkuang and Air Itam dams were full due to the constant rainfall last
month but Penangites should still conserve water because the country was
currently facing a hot spell.
Andrea
Filmer
The
Star
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