Haze situation improves in northern region

PETALING JAYA: The severe haze that hit Perak and most of the northern region on Tuesday has improved as the air pollutant index (API) readings for the areas have shown a drop.
A check on the Department of Environment website showed that the API reading for Seri Manjung in Perak at 2pm today was at a moderate 85, a big improvement compared to Tuesday's "unhealthy" reading of above 200 that saw the afternoon session for 15 schools in Manjung being cancelled.
API readings today for the rest of the state were Kampung Air Putih in Taiping at 127, SK Jalan Pegoh in Ipoh at 100, Jalan Tasek in Ipoh at 93, Tanjung Malim at 60 and Kangar at 50.
The API in Seberang Jaya was 76 compared to 111 on Tuesday. The rest of the country had moderate and good API readings.
An API reading of between 0 and 50 is considered good, 51 to 100 moderate, 101 to 200 unhealthy, 201 to 300 very unhealthy and 301 upwards is deemed hazardous.
Meanwhile, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri G. Palanivel said API readings on Tuesday which went beyond the unhealthy mark and the current haze situation that hit most parts of the northern region was due to transboundary haze pollution from Sumatra.
"The hot and dry weather as well as the calm atmosphere caused the dust from the fire areas in Sumatra to remain trapped in the atmosphere and this eventually caused the hazy environment in the country," he said in a statement.
On Monday, 150 hotspots were detected in Sumatra and 26 in Malaysia, with Selangor having the most hotspots.
Palanivel said until July 21, DOE had detected 4,389 cases of open burning comprising forest areas (897), agriculture land (1,434), industrial sites (34), construction sites (135), garbage dumping sites (70), bushes (1,006) and small open burning (813).
A total of 311 compounds and 94 notices were issued to offenders while 38 cases are under investigation for court action.