Increasing hot spots in Sumatra, brewing concerns of early haze

Once a year, smoke from large scale forest burnings in Sumatra and Kalimantan provinces drift northward, mainly over Singapore and Malaysia, blanketing the skies with haze.

The ‘haze season’ typically begins around June to August.

However, the Singapore National Environment Agency, on its website on Tuesday said it had detected 458 hot spots in Sumatra, with 246 in Riau province alone where smoke plumes have been spotted.

This was a drastic spike from 187 hot spots detected just a day before.

Checks by Astro AWANI in the Klang Valley and Singapore showed clear skies at Press time.

Pollution levels hit record levels in June last year resulting in both countries being covered in thick smog for several weeks.

In Malaysia, two districts in Johor (Muar and Ledang) were declared to be in a state of emergency after the Air Pollution readings reached more than 750.

Anything above 300 is considered hazardous.

At 2pm on Wednesday, the Air Pollutant Index (API) in the Klang Valley recorded a 'moderate' level of 59, Penang, 78 and Ipoh, the highest in the country.