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Brace For The Haze: Fires In Indonesia Have Started Again

Brace For The Haze: Fires In Indonesia Have Started Again

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You might want to keep those masks on Malaysia, because experts are saying that the haze season might be returning to our shores sometime soon if forest fires in neighboring Indonesia continue.

With news of more than 700 forest fires in Indonesia’s province of Kalimantan, the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) expects the seasonal cross-border haze to be back by August or September if the situation is not brought under control.

Reportedly, Indonesia has declared a state of emergency in the province and are deploying efforts to mitigate the problem.

In 2019 the region was hit with one of the worst transboundary haze seasons in recorded history as fires ravaged over 1.6 million hectares of forest and peatland, turning skies over Indonesia crimson red from smog, and made Malaysia one of the worst air polluted countries in the world.

For now, MetMalaysia says that the country’s Air Pollutant Index (API) remains normal and should continue to be based on the number and position of “hotspots” in Indonesia as well as the general direction of the winds.

However, according to Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s (UKM) Social and Environmental Research and Development Studies lecturer, Prof. Datuk Dr. Mohd Ekhwan Toriman the smog coming from fires in Kalimantan would still hit areas in East Malaysia.

The wind is moving southwest at a speed of 15 knots and is generally dry. So the haze caused by fires in Kalimantan would only affect the interior of Sarawak and Sabah.

Prof. Datuk Dr. Mohd Ekhwan Toriman via New Straits Times

So enjoy the fresh air while it lasts Malaysia…


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