PETALING JAYA: The Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, has advised the public to stay vigilant of the current haze situation and warning from the authorities. In a post on his Facebook page, Ahmad Zahid urged the public to verify and keep track of the latest information from the official websites of government agencies such as the Environment Department and Malaysian Meteorological Department or the myCuaca mobile application.
He highlighted that the country is facing a dynamic change of weather following the monsoon transition to warm and dry weather, as well as a higher reading of the Air Pollutant Index (API) in certain states. Ahmad Zahid, who is also chairman of the Central Disaster Management Committee, reminded the public to stay updated on the latest haze situation.
He stated that he had instructed all relevant agencies to prepare for any possibilities that could affect the people’s lives. Climatologists have warned that the country will experience higher API air quality due to transboundary haze from Indonesia until Oct 4. This is attributed to the occurrence of El Nino and the positive Indian Ocean Dipole phenomenon, which have resulted in drier weather than in previous years.
Several areas on the West coast of Peninsular Malaysia have recorded unhealthy API levels in recent days. Asean nations have raised their alert level of the transboundary haze risk to level 2, indicating escalating hotspot activities with moderate to dense smoke haze observed over two days or more. Dry weather persists and prevailing winds are blowing the smoke from the hotspots towards neighboring countries. Many nations are bracing for high pollution readings due to smoke from the Kalimantan forest fires in Indonesia.
Credit: The Star : News Feed
