KUCHING: SK Kuala Baram 2 in Miri recorded hazardous air quality with the Air Pollutant Index (API) reading rising to 342 as of 3pm as compared to 317 at 11am.
The Sarawak State Disaster Management Committee in a statement said one area recorded very unhealthy air quality level, namely the automatic air quality monitoring station located at Miri Industrial Training Institute with an API reading of 297.
“Two stations recorded unhealthy air quality levels from Sibu and Sri Aman stations while the remaining nine stations showed moderate readings,” the statement said.
An API reading of between 0 and 50 is good while 51 to 100 is moderate, 101 to 200 is unhealthy, 201 to 300 very unhealthy, and 301 and above is deemed hazardous.
According to the statement, based on a report by the Singapore-based Asean Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC) yesterday, 19 satellite images had detected 56 hotspots in Kalimantan, two in Sumatra, Indonesia, while four hotspots were detected in Sarawak, two in Miri and one each in Sibu and Kapit.
“In this case, the State Disaster Management Committee has issued notification to the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) to conduct cloud seeding in Miri, Kuala Baram, Sibu and Sri Aman.
“Hence, the public are advised not to engage in any open burning activities that may further affect the air quality and cause the haze to worsen,” he said. — Bernama
