KUCHING: Cloud seeding will not resolve the haze situation in Sarawak if forest fires and open burning activities in Indonesia, particularly in neighbouring Kalimantan, continue.
Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas said the operation could only ease the situation temporarily as the haze will return due to the wind direction.
“It is pointless for us to conduct cloud seeding if the burning activities in Indonesia continue. So, I hope Putrajaya will be more firm and urge the Indonesian government to take immediate action to tackle the issue – to douse the forest fires,” he said.
Uggah, who also the state’s Sarawak State Disaster Management Committee (JPBN) chairman, said school principals and headmasters can decide to temporarily close schools if the Air Pollutant Index (APi) readings reach the "very unhealthy" level of over 201.
However, the ongoing Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) examination will continue despite the high API readings recorded, said JPBN secretariat Chief Major Ismail Mahedin.
He said some 200,000 face masks were given to the education department, which will distribute them to school children in the affected area in the state.
“As part of our preparations, we have handed the face masks to the education department and briefed them on school closure as well as guidelines for teachers and officers on duty or in charge of UPSR,” he said.
A total of 40,448 pupils are sitting for the UPSR in Sarawak, which began on Wednesday, before continuing on Sept 10 (Tuesday) to 12.
“The visibility in the state’s capital has reduced to 700m today (Saturday) from 1.4km yesterday.
The visibility during normal days is 10km and above. Thus, motorists and road users were urged to drive carefully while those riding the motorcycles must use a face mask, he added.
Out of the total 13 API stations in Sarawak, two stations; namely Kuching and Samarahan recorded ‘very unhealthy at 221 and 203, respectively, as of 5pm.
Another five stations showed ‘unhealthy’ air quality which included ILP Miri (117), Miri (151), Sarikei (133), Sri Aman (176), and Kuala Baram (117).
An API reading of 0-50 shows good air quality, 51-100 moderate, 101-200 unhealthy, 201-300 very unhealthy, and 300 and above hazardous.
A total 12 hot spots were detected in Sarawak,1,087 in Kalimantan and 306 in Sumatera.
Fire and rescue department has recorded a total of 97 forest and peat land fires since Sept 1.
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail in a statement today said the National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA) would continue monitoring the situation in the affected areas.
She said the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) was also looking into conducting cloud seeding operations taking into account the atmospheric conditions in the areas.
"The people especially those in Sarawak are advised to stay indoors and to wear face masks when out in the open, to avoid health problems," she said.
MetMalaysia also urged people to reduce outdoor activities, wear a mask, drink plenty of water and do not engage in open burning.
Its director-general Jailan Simon in a statement said the possibility of heavy rains occurring there and in Malaysia was low during the next one week, and as such, there was a high possibility for the haze to continue particularly in western and southern Peninsular Malaysia, as well as western Sarawak.
The haze is expected to remain until the end of the southwest monsoon and the situation could worsen if fires in Indonesia are not contained, Jailan added.
Information on the weather forecast can be accessed through the MetMalaysia website or the myCuaca app.