Malaysia’s Sabah on haze alert, as air quality in state capital hits unhealthy level

KOTA KINABALU – The Malaysian state of Sabah has gone on the alert for haze with the state capital and Tawau recording unhealthy levels over the last 48 hours.

Tawau, the district straddling north Kalimantan, recorded an API reading of 153 while Kota Kinabalu is at 122 as of 11am on Aug 31 while other areas such as Sandakan and Keningau remained at moderate levels.

Sabah Environment Department representative Nor Rashidah Mohd Ghazali said they were continuously monitoring the situation as the state was now also affected by the reported transboundary haze from forest and peatland fires in Kalimantan.

She noted that a fire involving 202 stilt houses at the Kampung Numbak in Kota Kinabalu on Aug 30 had also contributed to local air quality deterioration.

“No other major fires were reported around Kota Kinabalu,” she said, adding that on Aug 29 bush fires detected by the ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC) in Singapore satellite imagery from NOAA‑20 in Tuaran and Kota Belud have been fully extinguished with no more hotspots detected.

“Due to hot and dry weather, the Department of Environment is intensifying enforcement and daily patrols in areas prone to open burning, while monitoring API readings continuously.

“To date, 474 patrols under the Open Burning Prevention Operation (OMPT) have been carried out in the state,” she said.

She reminded the public not to carry out open burning or allow their land or premises to be trespassed for such activities.

Public also urged to help extinguish small fires and report open burning or fire incidents to the Fire and Rescue Department.

Sabah, unlike neighbouring Sarawak, relatively enjoyed good air quality in the current dry spell despite its close proximity to northern Kalimantan where over 1,000 peat fires have been located.

API readings began to increase over the last 48 hours.

API readings of between zero and 50 indicate good air quality, 51 to 100 moderate, 101 to 200 unhealthy and 201 to 300 very unhealthy, while readings above 300 are categorised as hazardous. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK