KUCHING, Sept 5: The haze has reduced visibility in Kuching to 4km, as at 4pm today.
The State Disaster Relief Management (JPBN) Committee in a statement disclosed that normal visibility should be 10km and above.
Bintulu recorded visibility of 5km followed by Miri at 8km and Sri Aman at 10km.
“Over in Kalimantan, there are 455 hotspots, which tripled from yesterday’s numbers while Sumatera recorded seven hotspots. There are four hotspots in Sarawak. Depending on wind direction, the haze from Kalimantan will hit Sarawak, affecting Kuching, Samarahan and Sri Aman,” said JPBN secretariat Mejar Ismail Mahedin.
The air pollutant index reading as at 5pm are Kuching with 114, Samarahan (122) and Sri Aman (140).
Meanwhile, State Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) acting deputy director Tiong Ling Hii said the department has recorded a total of 49 open burning incidents, mostly by farmers, plantation companies and irresponsible individuals since Sept 1.
The bush, forest and peat fires have affected some 103 acres of land this month.
Yesterday marked the department’s highest daily record with 19 cases. — DayakDaily
