by Nancy Nais
KUCHING, Sept 19: The authorities will conduct cloud seeding operations at 8.30am tomorrow in an attempt to combat the persistent haze.
The operations will focus on districts experiencing very unhealthy air quality namely Kuching, Samarahan, Sri Aman, Kapit and Sarikei.
This decision was made following an emergency meeting between State Disaster Management Committee, Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia), Sarawak Meteorological Department, Civil Defence Force (APM), Sarawak Civil Aviation, Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) and Kuching Water Board (KWB) this morning.
According to Sarawak Disaster Management Committee secretariat chief Major Ismail Mahedin, the meeting was called to decide whether the cloud conditions in the affected areas are suitable for the operation and to gather information from MetMalaysia on the position of the clouds.
“A total of 78 personnel consisting of APM (20), RMAF (29), MetMalaysia (5), KWB (19) and five from the Works Department will conduct the cloud seeding using RMAF’s Hercules aircraft tomorrow,” Ismail said, adding that the aircraft will depart from RMAF air base in Kuching.
As of 2pm today, six areas are still recording an Air Pollutant Index (API) readings of above 200, indicating a very unhealthy air quality level.
They are Kuching (267), Samarahan (222), Sri Aman (211), Sarikei (237), Sibu (246), and Mukah (210). — DayakDaily
