Air quality nationwide deteriorates due to transboundary haze - Wan Junaidi

The air quality in several areas across the country deteriorated today following a transboundary haze originating from Sumatera and Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Natural Resources and Environment Minister, Datuk Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said, the ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC) had detected 68 hotspots in Kalimantan and 10 hotspots in Sumatera while another was detected in Pahang.

“The Regional Haze Map issued by the ASMC on Oct 17 showed thick and moderate haze from central and southern Sumatera heading towards the Straits of Malacca, while thick and moderate haze from central Kalimantan heading towards west Sarawak and east Sabah,” he said in a statement issued today.

He said, the haze is being brought by south-westerly winds and two active tropical storms in the Pacific Ocean.

“At the moment, there are two active tropical storms in the Pacific Ocean, which is Tropical Storm Koppu and Tropical Storm Champi. The presence of these two tropical storms will affect the regional wind patterns, including Malaysia.

“During this time, the amount of rainfall is expected to decrease as the regional area is being influenced by the south-westerly winds blowing at moderate speeds,” he said.

Wan Junaidi said, the Indonesian government is highly appreciative of Malaysia’s assistance in providing air craft to help in fire fighting activities through water bombing operations in south Sumatera beginning from Oct 11. The deployment involved two Bombardiers CL 415 MP and an AS 365 N3 Dauphine belonging to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agengy (MMEA).

He said he will attend the 11th ASEAN Meeting of Conference of Parties to Haze Agreement on Transboundary Haze on Oct 28 at Hanoi, Vietnam.

“This is the first meeting that will be attended by all ASEAN member states who had ratified the agreement. “Malaysia will continue to urge and cooperate with Indonesia to find an effective solution in regards to the transboundary haze,” he said.