Haze expected to persist until September

The haze over certain areas in the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and Klang Valley as a result of open burning activities in Central Sumatra, Indonesia is expected to persist until September, according to the Natural Resources and Environment (NRE) Ministry.

"The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellite imagery map released by the Asean Specialised Meteorological Center (ASMC) yesterday showed moderate smoke haze swirling from the Riau province in Central Sumatra towards the central and northern part of the peninsula," it said in a statement today.

The statement said NOAA detected 42 hotspots in Sumatra, eight in Sarawak, three in Pahang and one in Selangor.

A total of 4,400 open burning cases, of which 1,435 involved agricultural land and 897, forests, were detected in the first seven months of this year.

Based on investigations conducted by the ministry, 1,011 cases involved bush fires, construction sites (136), garbage dumping sites (70), industrial areas (34) and small fires (817), said the statement.