KUALA LUMPUR: After almost two weeks of having to put up with “horrible” haze, most Malaysians finally got a chance to taste normal outdoor life following the air quality reverting to the moderate level.
Blue skies again this morning got a buzz from netizens, many of whom posted pictures and comments welcoming back normal life.
Twitter user @hadigonnaslim in a tweet said: “Alhamdulillah, the haze is gone, clear skies again, Ya Allah #haze”.
Another Twitter user with the handle Twitter, @over_you_heart uploaded a photograph with the caption “Alhamdulillah no more haze. Finally can see awan (clouds).. i missed you awan..”.
Also an observation from Bernama’s headquarters Wisma Bernama found the two tallest structures in the city - the Kuala Lumpur Tower and Petronas Twin Towers - located three and six km away, were clearly visible again, as compared to just silhouettes for the past few days.
Over the past two weeks, many parts of the country were hit by severe transboundary haze.
In fact, the Air Pollutant Index (API) reading in Sri Aman, Sarawak had exceeded 400, way past the 300 level indicating hazardous air quality.
With the API at above 200 in many areas (very unhealthy air), for some of the days during that time, thousands of schools were forced to close, sports and recreational activities cancelled, including the Malacca edition of the FitMalaysia programme organised by the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
The Health Ministry had also advised the public to take extra precautions, asking the people to don face masks and reduce outdoor activities.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian Meteorological Department has forecast the situation should return to normal with the Inter-Monsoon period kicking in starting yesterday.
Winds will come from various directions coupled with rainy weather which will blow away and dissolve the haze.
Cloud seeding had also helped to combat the haze problem in states like Sarawak, Selangor, Perak and Penang last week.
According the latest API readings, as at 6pm today, only Johan Setia in Klang was experiencing unhealthy air quality, with the reading at 140.
The API comprises the following categories: good (0-50), moderate (51-100), unhealthy (101-200), very unhealthy (201-300) and hazardous (301 onwards). - Bernama
